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

The surprise was part of Mitchell's massive three-hour-long set, laden with jokes and deep cuts from her decades-long catalog. —Jade Gomez, People.com, 21 Oct. 2024

Unfortunately, at the same time, this sketch seems tailor-made for the chronically online and contains some very deep cuts. —Rosa Escandon, Forbes, 20 Oct. 2024

But for close to three hours on Saturday night, Mitchell delivered a landmark concert filled with stunning classics, thrilling deep cuts, and laughter in between. —John Lonsdale, Rolling Stone, 20 Oct. 2024

This is fairly hit-and-miss — there are lots of references and hyper online deep cuts. —Andy Hoglund, EW.com, 20 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1993, in the meaning defined at sense 1