Cut to the Chase
“Cut to the chase” means getting directly to the important point instead of spending time on preliminaries. Film-industry wording such as “cut to chase” is reported from 1929, while the broad figurative “get to the point” sense is documented later; the engine keeps those stages separate.
It means to get directly to the important point. Phrase-history research reports a 1929 film-script direction “cut to chase,” but the generalized figurative meaning appears later, so the production instruction is treated as a historical precursor rather than automatic proof of the modern idiom.
Key details
What the evidence supports
The exact modern idiom was fully established by the 1929 script direction.
The 1929 wording is relevant film-industry evidence, but specialist research distinguishes it from the later generalized figurative use.
Documented timeline
- 1929
Film-script direction reported
Phrase Finder reports “Cut to chase” in Hollywood Girl as a film-industry direction.
- 1940s
Generalized figurative use emerges
Phrase Finder reports broader “get to the point” use in the 1940s.
Variants
Reported 1929 script-direction wording without the article “the.”
Modern idiomatic form reflected in current dictionary usage.
Further guidance
Contextual Examples
We only have five minutes, so let’s cut to the chase: can you meet the deadline?
After a long introduction, the chair cut to the chase and asked for the vote.
Figurative Stage
The same source places broader figurative “get to the point” use in the 1940s, so a production direction and a generalized idiom are not treated as the same evidence event.
Film Industry Stage
Phrase Finder reports the wording “Cut to chase” in Joseph Patrick McEvoy’s 1929 Hollywood Girl as a script direction.
Meaning
Cambridge labels the idiom informal and defines it as dealing with the important part of a subject without wasting time on unimportant material.
Meaning Boundary
It can sound abrupt in sensitive or formal settings, so “get to the main point” may be more neutral. Historical film-script wording is a precursor; it should not be treated as automatic proof of one exact inventor of the modern idiom.
Origin boundary
The engine records documented stages without claiming that one surviving citation identifies a unique inventor.
Practical Use
Use the informal phrase to ask someone to skip preliminaries and move directly to the central point, decision, or result.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- CUT TO THE CHASE definition (opens in a new tab)Cambridge Dictionary · Modern meaning and register
- Cut To The Chase - Meaning & Origin (opens in a new tab)Phrase Finder · Reported chronology from 1929 script-direction wording to 1940s figurative use