Cut A Figure Meaning

(idiomatic) To present an image; to make an impression.

Example: 1913, Jeffery Farnol, The Amateur Gentleman, ch. 57:
  Your desire was to cut a figure in the Fashionable World. Well, to-day you have your wish—to-day you are famous.
1919, W. Somerset Maugham, The Moon and Sixpence, chapter 27:
  Dirk Stroeve cut such an absurd figure that I felt inclined to laugh.
1950, The Crisis, page 647
  As a leader of the free world the United States cuts an unconvincing figure with its racial segregation.
2010 Sep. 9, Karl Vick, "Israel's Military on the Spot Over Activist's Death," Time:
  Composed and genial, the Corries cut an impressive figure in the sun-drenched Haifa courthouse.