To speak gently. To cut bene whiddes; to give good words. To cut queer whiddes; to give foul language. To cut a bosh, or a flash; to make a figure. CANT.
Definition taken from The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, originally by Francis Grose.
to cut * to cutty-eyeNathan Bailey's 1721 Dictionary of canting and thieving slang
John S. Farmer's collection of canting songs and slang rhymes