cut to the chase
idiom (informal)

- come to the point

- to talk about or deal with the important parts of a subject and not waste time with things that are not important

Oxford English Dictionary / Cambridge Dictionary

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PHRASE ORIGIN

This expression originated in the U.S. film industry and goes back to the days when silent films often ended in chase sequences (action scenes where someone is being chased by another person).

Back then a typical chase scene might have shown the film’s heroine in the hands of the villain — tied to a set of railroad tracks for instance — while the hero rushed to save her. The idea of course was to build suspense, although the audience knew the hero would come to the rescue.

Prior to the chase scenes however, these films contained obligatory romantic storylines. If they were too long, the director would edit the film by shortening the romance scenes, in effect “cutting to the chase”.

The figurative sense of “getting to the point” emerged in the 1940s.

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WHY DON'T THE BRITISH CUT TO THE CHASE?

Confidential Memorandum

To: The Foreign Minister
From: The Prime Minister

Certain informal discussions have taken place involving a full and frank exchange of views, out of which there arose a series of proposals which on examination proved to indicate certain promising lines of enquiry which when pursued led to the realisation that an alternative posting might in fact, be worthy of your consideration; this has led to a reappraisal of the original areas of responsibility and point the way to encouraging possibilities of not insignificant development which, if bilaterally implemented with appropriate give and take on both sides, could at the end of the day lead to your considering the opportunity of an alternative position, perhaps under the auspices of the European Commission in Brussels, in this you can be confident of my unqualified support; I feel assured that you will give this matter your full consideration and indicate your decision at the earliest possible opportunity,

I remain, yours most sincerely,

(Scroll down for the meaning in plain English)
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In plain English, this memo simply means: YOU’RE FIRED!

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SYNONYMS

- to state (something) directly
- to talk or negotiate plainly, frankly, or seriously

come/get (straight) to the point, get on with it, CUT TO THE CHASE, get down to brass tacks (to business, to the nitty-gritty), make no bones about it, mince no words, not beat around the bush (pull one’s punches), talk turkey, put one’s cards on the table

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SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“Let’s CUT TO THE CHASE and talk about the final cost.”

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HERZLICHEN DANK to all readers helping me keep OWAD alive with single or monthly donations at:

https://donorbox.org/please-become-a-friend-of-owad-3

and,

Paul Smith, IBAN: DE75 7316 0000 0002 5477 40