deep cut

noun

plural deep cuts

1

music : a song that is considerably less popular and well-known than other songs on the same album or by the same artist

From there, the band careened through highlights and the occasional deep cut from its catalog …

—Mikael Wood

But the rocker saw an opportunity to turn casual fans on to his deep cuts—so each disc intersperses hits with lesser-known album tracks in non-chronological order.

—David Browne

2

: something (such as an obscure reference to a book or movie) that is recognizable to devotees but not usually to others

One of the fun things about being a Marvel fan is the franchise's ability to constantly surprise its audience with comic book deep cuts, surprising castings, and twists that no one sees coming.

—Alexis Nedd

deep-cut adjective

a deep-cut reference/joke

Examples of deep cut in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For others, deep cuts are remembering the names of random Ninja Turtle villains. —Staff, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Dec. 2024

This is a funny commentary on our embarrassing listens, and the random rabbit holes and deep cuts people lean into — and the silent majority influence of podcasters. —EW.com, 8 Dec. 2024

House spending panels have proposed deep cuts in many civilian science agencies, along with sharp increases for the military. —Byjeffrey Mervis, science.org, 12 Nov. 2024

Critics reply by citing Project 2025, a potential blueprint for a second Trump presidency that proposes deep cuts to the social safety net for lower-income families alongside more large tax breaks for the wealthy. —Eli Hager, ProPublica, 2 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1993, in the meaning defined at sense 1