To take a short cut is to go by a quicker route, or to skip proper steps. Take a short cut across the field.
The literal sense is neutral and the figurative one is a criticism. Anybody who decides to take a short cut in a job usually pays for it twice.
1phrasetake a short cutTo go by a quicker route, or to skip proper steps.
“They would take a short cut through the churchyard every morning.”
take a short cut is a phrase.
Practised in Idioms