English phrase of the day: Cut to the chase

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Hi students! Our next phrase of the day comes from a show where the characters were having a meeting at work, and the manager started off by saying, “We don't have a lot of time, so I'm gonna cut to the chase.”

This expression, cut to the chase, means to go straight to the most important points. It means you DON'T make “small talk” about casual topics, and you don't spend time talking about introductory details or background information -you just start talking about the major facts directly.

In many cultures it's customary to have some social conversation or introduction first, and it would be considered a little rude to start by getting right to the main points. So people say “I'm gonna cut to the chase” or “let's cut to the chase” to inform everyone that you are deliberately choosing to skip the social/introductory stuff and you're not meaning to be rude, you're just short on time or you need the conversation to be as efficient as possible.

That's all for now. See you next time!