cut to the chase

Meaning

This idiom means to stop talking about unimportant details and get straight to the most important point or the main issue. It originates from early filmmaking, where editors would skip the boring dialogue and cut directly to the exciting chase scene.

Examples

• Look, I'm in a bit of a hurry, so let's cut to the chase—how much is this going to cost?

  Look, I'm in a bit of a hurry, so let's cut to the chase—how much is this going to cost?

• Instead of giving a long introduction, the presenter decided to cut to the chase and show the new product.

  Instead of giving a long introduction, the presenter decided to cut to the chase and show the new product.

• I wish he would just cut to the chase instead of telling me his entire life story first.

  I wish he would just cut to the chase instead of telling me his entire life story first.

• Let's cut to the chase: do we have the budget for this project or not?

  Let's cut to the chase: do we have the budget for this project or not?

• She hates small talk, so she always cuts to the chase during meetings.

  She hates small talk, so she always cuts to the chase during meetings.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ Let's cut the chase.

  ✓ Let's cut to the chase.

  The preposition 'to' is essential. Saying 'cut the chase' sounds like you are stopping a physical chase, rather than skipping ahead to the main point.

• ✗ He cut to the race.

  ✓ He cut to the chase.

  The noun is fixed as 'chase'. Substituting it with 'race' or 'point' in this specific idiom is incorrect.

Related Expressions

Practice

• Stop beating around the bush and ___.

  💡 Get straight to the point.

  Show answer

  cut to the chase

• I'll ___: we need to finish this by tomorrow morning.

  💡 Skip the introduction and say the main point directly.

  Show answer

  cut to the chase