Cut to the chase

How it is used

Used in meetings, emails, and informal business talk when someone wants a direct answer, summary, or decision without a long introduction.

Example sentences

1. We only had ten minutes with the regional director, so Priya cut to the chase and asked for budget approval immediately.

   The idiom shows that she skipped extra context and moved straight to the key request because the meeting time was very short.

2. Instead of repeating last quarter's history, the consultant cut to the chase and outlined the three risks on slide two.

   Here it means leaving out old background material and focusing on the actionable points the audience needs right away.

Common collocations

• cut to the chase in a meeting
• cut to the chase quickly
• let me cut to the chase

Related terms

• touch baseTo contact someone briefly to check how things are going or to share a quick update, usually by phone, chat or a short meeting.
• heads-upAdvance warning or information about something that is going to happen, so the other person can prepare for it.

More terms: Office Idioms and Phrases

• on the same page
• keep me posted
• ballpark figure
• bandwidth
• circle back
• low-hanging fruit
• get the ball rolling
• back to the drawing board
• drop the ball
• on my radar
• up to speed
• on board