Cut to the chase

This expression meaning to get to the significant point or to the heart of the matter derives from the world of films where cutting refers to the editing of celluloid film and where the chase scene was usually the climax in a whole genre of movies. Cutting to the chase meant skipping the build-up and getting to the good stuff, the chase scene. The origin is American and first appeared in its literal sense as a script direction in 1929. Its first appearance in its current figurative sense was in the Winnipeg Free Press 10/03/1944, “When in doubt, cut to the chase.”