Learn English – the origin of the phrase “cut the mustard”

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What is the origin of the phrase "cut the mustard"?

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There has been an association between the heat and piquancy of mustard and the zest and energy of people's behaviour. This dates back to at least 1672, when the term 'as keen as mustard' is first recorded. 'Up to mustard' or just 'mustard' means up to standard in the same way as 'up to snuff'. 'Cutting' has also long been used to mean 'exhibiting', as in the phrase 'cutting a fine figure'. Unless some actual evidence is found for the other proposed explanations, the derivation of 'cutting the mustard' as an alternative way of saying 'exhibiting one's high standards' is by far the most likely.

Whatever the coinage, the phrase itself emerged in the USA towards the end of the 19th century. The earliest example in print that I've found is from The Iowa State Reporter, August 1897, in a piece about the rivalry between two Iowa towns:

Dubuque had the crowds, but Waterloo "Cut the Mustard"

The use of quotation marks and the lack of any explanation of the term in that citation imply that 'cut the mustard' was already known to Iowa readers and earlier printed examples may yet turn up.

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