To get to the point quickly without wasting time on unnecessary details or preliminaries.
This phrase originated in the Hollywood film industry of the 1920s. Movie editors would literally "cut to the chase" scene - the exciting action sequence that audiences were waiting for - skipping over slower dialogue or setup scenes. It moved into general usage by the 1940s.
The phrase perfectly captures the tension between storytelling and audience attention spans that filmmakers have always faced. It's fascinating that a technical film editing term became such a common way to ask someone to be more direct in everyday conversation.
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