cut out the middle man

1. Means of justification for a purchase. Everything is free if you think about it, because you aren't paying for a product, you're paying for someone to give it to you, so if you mentally cut the middle man (seller) out, you basically bought something for free.

2. Refers to stealing something. The people selling the product is the middle man, and by simply cutting out the middle man, everything magically becomes free.

g: omg where did you get those cool rings??
c: oh theyre free at emmy's!
g: really? i thought those were like 5 bucks each!
c: oh, i just cut out the middle man!