Yes, Charmion, the "cut direct" -- I learned about that,
not in USA American conversation, but in reading
neo-Regency novelists like Georgette Heyer.

The county where my clinic is, Berkshire County,
has been startled by the coronavirus variants.
Vaccinations are going well in the county,
and there had been no rising 'curve' in infection
until those pesky variants turned up.

But here in Massachusetts, at least where I have traveled,
people are cautious and courteous, and more power to them.