Imagine the harm if you selected a few hundred files to copy them (or duplicate them) but inadvertently hit the X key. Not to mention toddlers, pets and mice that don't work just right.

The folder nature of the Finder means that one little action can have hugely amplified effects.

The cut function is finally implemented by standard in Lion as a result of modifying the paste command. If you mark the files with copy as usual, but instead hold down the <kbd>Option</kbd> key in addition to the normal past command - it retroactively cuts the original files as well as placing them in the new destination.

<kbd>⌘</kbd>+<kbd>Option</kbd>+<kbd>V</kbd> = paste + cut in Lion.

This makes an accidental and harder to recover scenario less likely.