cut to the chase

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cut to the chase

Where it comes from

From cinema usage: to cut (edit a film) so as to get to the exciting part.

Also, preceded by Chaucer c.1400, "The Wife of Bath's Tale"- "And shortly forth this tale for to chace" (To cut a long story short).

verb cuts to the chase · cutting to the chase · cut to the chase

idiomatic To get to the point; to get on with it; to state something directly. We don't have much time here. Could you cut to the chase?
Similar: cut to Hecuba, get on with it, get to the point

Opposite: beat around the bush

Thesaurus

verb

Opposite: beat around the bush

Translations

Every language

verb to get to the point

Español	ir al grano, ir al ajo del asunto, ir al meollo, acortar envites, ahorrar envites, parar de dar vueltas
한국어	거두절미(去頭截尾)하다 geodujeolmihada
Português	ir direto ao ponto, ir direto ao assunto
Français	aller droit au but, aller à l'essentiel
Deutsch	auf den Punkt kommen, Butter bei die Fische
Italiano	andare al sodo, venire al sodo, venire al dunque
Ελληνικά	μπαίνω στο ψητό baíno sto psitó
Română	trece la subiect
Русский	перейти́ к де́лу perejtí k délu

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Cite this

MLA

"cut to the chase." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/cut%20to%20the%20chase. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

cut to the chase. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/cut%20to%20the%20chase

Chicago

"cut to the chase." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/cut%20to%20the%20chase.

BibTeX

@misc{cut_to_the_chase_2026,
  title = {cut to the chase},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/cut%20to%20the%20chase},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}