Meanings of “Cut To The Chase”
The phrase “cut to the chase” means to immediately get to the point without the unnecessary preface or preamble.
Origin of “Cut To The Chase”
The phrase “cut to the chase” has originated from Hollywood. It was first used in a novel, Hollywood Girl, written by Joseph Patrick McEvoy. It was published in 1929. The phrase in this novel goes thus; “Jannings escapes… Cut to chase.”
However, the meanings were almost the same in the later usages, too. A British newspaper, The Berkshire Evening Eagle, too, printed the same phrase in the same meaning which goes, “Let’s cut to the chase. There will be no tax relief this year.” It was published in this newspaper in February 1947.
Examples in Literature
Example #1
Cut To The Chase by David Darbyshire
Once in a while
you really do smile,
to be with you awhile,
I’d walk the extra mile.With a hole in my shoe,
and a smile on my face.
I’m gonna met you,
and cut to the chase.So please be ready
stay strong for me.
I really love you,
with you I want to be.
The poet uses the first person to express his love after cutting to the chase. He says that if he is to stay with his beloved even if his shoes are pinching. He would smile and stay to the point in the expression of his love. The phrase has been used at the end of the second stanza to show his curt style of speaking and saying, “I really love you.” The phrase shows its literal meanings.
Example #2
Cut to the Chase by Rush
“You may be right
It’s all a waste of time
I guess that’s just a chance I’m prepared to take
A danger I’m prepared to face
Cut to the chaseJust a danger I’m prepared to face
Cut to the chase.”
In these lines, the singer implicitly asks his beloved that she should come to the point, declaring he is ready to face the danger. This hidden danger that the singer is seeing is perhaps her refusal he thinks he is prepared to take. The phrase has been used twice in its literal meanings.
Example #3
Cut to the Chase by Nayla Nash
The story of the novel revolves around the independent thinking girl, Ruby O’Shea, who rejects one alpha and becomes buddy of another, Carter Chase, despite keeping a distance from all. The rejected fellow chases her and when Carter joins hand with him, she immediately leaves him, too. This conflict continues until the end, though, she wants to stay with Carter but also wants to keep her independence intact. The story is an extended metaphor of the phrase given in the title.
Example #4
Cut to the Chase by Lisa Girolami
“Helen Deutsch who wrote National Velvet?”
She was relieved that her diatribe was at least holding Avalon’s attention. “Yes. Helen had a note on the wall where she did her writing. Time was important to her because it said, “When in doubt, cut to the chase.’”
“So, cut to the chase by cutting to the chase.”
She hadn’t heard it put that way and laughed. “Yes.”
Avalon bent slightly forward. “Are you the kind that likes to get to the point?”
This passage reveals Helen’s writing habit and her ways to attract the attention of Avalon. Although she knows that she has held him for some time, he plays with the phrase, asking her to “cut to the chase by cutting to the chase” to declare the significance of staying to the point. The passage shows the repetition of the phrase for impacts.
Example in Sentences
Example #1: “I had to almost beg him to cut to the chase every time he decided to start his story telling mode. We had too much of that already in the past. I doubted if anyone had the stomach to take it anymore.”
Example #2: “I have tried my best to be like cut to the chase, but each time I try, I end up blabbering a whole lot of nonsense. I wished there was a medicine to stop that.”
Example #3: “Cutting to the chase, the manager immediately comes to the point and starts talking about his life in the city. Whenever he cuts to the chase, it seems that he is reasonable, but when not, it seems he is foolish.”
Example #4: “The police was frustrated at the end of the day and asked the suspect to cut to the chase with the main event.”
Example #5: “Nancy was beating around the bush. Her mother knew she was lying and asked her to cut to the chase and tell the truth if she didn’t want her to be grounded.”