cut in half at waist; discontinue; cancel
Meanings
2 senses · 7 examplesverb
to cut in half at the waist (ancient capital punishment)
archaicRefers to the ancient cruel punishment of cutting a person's body into two pieces at the waist. Historically practiced in imperial China, this execution method was considered extremely cruel and was eventually abolished.
Li Si, the Prime Minister of the Qin Dynasty, was eventually sentenced to be cut in half at the waist.
Waist-cutting was a more cruel form of death penalty than beheading.
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In ancient times, waist-cutting was usually carried out using huge axes or guillotines.
verb
to discontinue prematurely; to cut off in the middle; to cancel halfway
Metaphorically indicates that a project, publication, broadcast, or plan is terminated or interrupted before completion. Commonly used in modern contexts such as discontinuing a book series due to poor sales, cancelling a construction project due to budget overruns, or stopping a sports match due to weather conditions.
This novel was discontinued by the publisher due to poor sales.
Due to severe budget overruns, this large-scale construction project was cancelled by the government.
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Yesterday's football match was stopped halfway through the second half due to heavy rain.
This magazine has discontinued three unpopular columns.