The phrase 'make the cut' is often used to describe the process of selecting a group of people or items from a larger group. The crossword solutions for this phrase are AXE (3 letters), EDIT (4 letters), NICK (4 letters), SCISSOR (7 letters), OPERATE (7 letters), SEVER (5 letters), LOP (3 letters), and SNIP (4 letters). These words all refer to various tools and actions that can be used to make a selection from a larger group, such as cutting with an AXE, editing a document, nicking something with a sharp object, using scissors, operating a machine, severing something, lopping off a branch, and snipping something with scissors.