A simple cut in the timeline means deleting a clip off the timeline while leaving a gap where the clip was deleted. When you cut, the other clips in the timeline have a gap in between.
A ripple edit is when a clip is deletied and there is no gap left where the clip was deleted. You do this by right clicking the clip and selecting "Ripple Delete". When you ripple delete, the other clips to the right of the deleted clip move to fill the gap.
Lifting and extracting are two ways to delete a clip at one time. To do this, you set the in and out points on the timeline and click on the lift button on the program panel.
Lifting is like deleting a clip and leaving a gap on the timeline between the clips, while extracting is like filling the gap, in terms of what happens to the other clips in the timeline.
This is an example of an lifting and extracting edit. I decided to edit the two clips where I did because thats where the original clip was.