From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishshort cutˌshort ˈcut, short-cut / $ ˈ../ ●○○ noun [countable] 1 WAY/ROUTEa quicker and more direct way of getting somewhere than the usual one Carlos decided to take a short-cut home. We were late for the game, but found a short cut through the fields.2 FAST/QUICKa quicker way of doing somethingshort cut to There aren’t really any short cuts to learning English.
Examples from the Corpus
short cut• Only the air was tainted by the fumes from the slow-moving cars that used the street as a short cut.• She took them by a short cut to the Weinbaum Canal.• They had orders to take the short cut and risk the mines. 