cut the turf
v. phr.— «Some of our targeted homeowners are suspicious. Some refuse to come to the door. Others hide behind twitched curtains until we leave. We are like political Jehovah’s Witnesses, but we are unrepentant. And, were we to falter, back at West Denver’s Obama HQ hand-painted signs urge us to keep up the canvassing—or “cutting the turf,” as they call it—to help save America.» —“Barack Obama’s campaign machine kicks into gear” by Tom Whipple Times (London, United Kingdom) Oct. 27, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Paul in Batavia, New York, recommends The Door-to-Door Bookstore (Bookshop|Amazon), a novel by Carston Henn, translated from German by Melody Shaw, which includes a wonderful description of a book with a perfect final paragraph that you nevertheless...
In the 1920’s, Americans were warned of a new danger sweeping across the country. This menace that harmed people’s health, ruined minds, and threatened marriages. The culprit? The national obsession with a new form of entertainment: crossword...