Cut A Figure Meaning

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.