crosscuts

Crosscuts is a term with several related meanings in different fields.

In carpentry and woodworking, a crosscut is a cut made perpendicular to the grain of wood. It contrasts with a rip cut, which runs parallel to the grain. Crosscuts are used to shorten stock or produce clean, square ends. Tools such as crosscut saws, backsaws, or fine crosscut blades are designed for this purpose, and techniques emphasize blade alignment, stable guides, and reduced tearout.

In film and video editing, crosscutting (or cross-cutting) is the technique of alternating between two or more separate scenes or actions, often to suggest simultaneous events or to build dramatic tension. The method has its roots in early cinema and became a standard narrative device, commonly used to relate parallel storylines or to heighten suspense by interweaving images from different locations.

In geology and mining, a crosscut is a tunnel, drift, or passage that cuts across rock layers, faults, or mineral veins. Such constructions are used to access ore bodies, expose geological features, or connect other workings. The term can also describe a feature that cuts across another feature; in geology, the principle of cross-cutting relationships states that a body or structure which cuts another is younger than the one cut.