# "Cut to the chase" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [April 14, 2005, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cut-to-the-chase/299273 "2005-04-14T12:51:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2005, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cut-to-the-chase/299273/1 "2005-04-14T12:51:30Z")
I get to be the first to publicly congratulate **dropzone** on a wonderful Staff Report, [What’s the origin of the phrase “cut to the chase”?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mchaff.html) Well done! ---
**Author:** ![Foghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/76d3ee/32.png) [@Foghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foghead)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2005, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cut-to-the-chase/299273/2 "2005-04-14T13:02:27Z")
> [@OP](#): > > Google “cut through the chaff” and you’ll get a piddling 575 hits Correction: 576. Ok, 577. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2005, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cut-to-the-chase/299273/3 "2005-04-14T13:05:15Z")
Might I add that J.P. McEvoy’s comic novels _Show Girl_ (1928) and its sequel, _Hollywood Girl_ (1929)—the adventures of hard-boiled, wisecracking chorine Dixie Dugan—are pure delights, and well worth searching for. As good in the genre as _Gentlemen Prefer Blondes_. Do _not_ watch the ghastly movie versions, though! ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2005, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cut-to-the-chase/299273/4 "2005-04-14T13:20:43Z")
> [@Foghead](#): > > Correction: 576. > > Ok, 577. Hey, the Googling wasn’t **my** idea. It was an Ed-dendum. I now understand why Cecil warns us about Ed’s editing. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2005, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cut-to-the-chase/299273/5 "2005-04-14T15:10:27Z")
“Chaff” also refers to the little metal strips that some military planes emit to fool radar guided missles. (not that that has anything to do with the phrase origin) Brian ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2005, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cut-to-the-chase/299273/6 "2005-04-14T18:25:16Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > “Chaff” also refers to the little metal strips that some military planes emit to fool radar guided missles. Hence, undoubtedly, giving rise to the phrase, “the whole nine chaff.” OK, back to topic. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cut-to-the-chase/299273/7 "2005-04-14T18:34:06Z")
But it has to have entered widespread use long before the 1980s. “Let’s cut to the chase” was one of my father’s favorite expressions when I was growing up in the 50s and 60s. His other was “Trust everyone but cut the cards.” ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Sakamoto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@Mr\_Sakamoto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Sakamoto)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2005, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cut-to-the-chase/299273/8 "2005-04-14T19:39:07Z")
Very cute, but you didn’t tell us what it was. Clever little _mumblemumble_ Now c’mon, answer the question. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2005, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cut-to-the-chase/299273/9 "2005-04-14T21:33:55Z")
D.W.: “So, we start with the scene of him in the office. Then we cut to the scene of him walking down the hall. Then we cut to the scene of him walking out the door. Then we cut to the scene of him in the bar. Then we cut to the scene of him leaving the bar. Then we cut to him in the scene of him getting in his car. Then we cut to the chase scene! So, what do you think?” Louis B.: “Show him in the office, show him in the bar, then cut to the chase.” ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2005, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cut-to-the-chase/299273/10 "2005-04-14T21:48:17Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > But it has to have entered widespread use long before the 1980s. “Let’s cut to the chase” was one of my father’s favorite expressions when I was growing up in the 50s and 60s. Yeah, but did he get it in print? As far as etymologists are concerned (and for convincing Ed I didn’t make it up from teh whole cloth by having enough references) _verbal_ usage doesn’t count. > [@Mr Sakamoto](#): > > Very cute, but you didn’t tell us what it was. Ah, but I _did._ You probably missed the last twist in the run-on sentence that preceded it and hit a Torino that drove past the police barrier, like Gene Hackman’s stunt driver. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2005, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cut-to-the-chase/299273/11 "2005-04-14T21:55:56Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > Louis B.: “Show him in the office, show him in the bar, then cut to the chase.” Then DW, incensed that this mere studio head, and a Jew at that, would dare to question his artistic vision, calls LA County’s Imperial Dragon of the KKK and the boys in white burn a cross on Louis B’s lawn. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cut-to-the-chase/299273/12 "2005-04-15T00:47:45Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I didn’t make it up from teh whole cloth OMG, |)r0p20ñ3 r teh r0xx0rs!!!11!!!21 ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cut-to-the-chase/299273/13 "2005-04-15T01:17:20Z")
My first exposure to the phrase was in the early '80s. In a book I was reading, the main character was a teenage girl, and her mom was a script reader for a movie studio. As such, mom had to skim through a lot of scripts very fast to see which one were worth greenlighting, and this forced impatience carried over to her everyday life. Girl: “Mom, I’m going out tonight…with Rick, and it’s sort of a date but not really, and Lisa’s gonna be there, and maybe some other kids, and we might go to a movie, or maybe this club if it’s an all-ages night, and—” Mom: “Cut to the chase. Where are you going and who’s driving?” Which I thought was a very cutting-edge expression. “Skip all the extraneous stuff and get to the action.” I didn’t take it as an editing decision, that all the extraneous stuff should be left out of the script, or the completed film, just that you judge a script’s worth by how well the action sequence plays out. (Which I don’t entirely agree with, but then I’m not a producer.) ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cut-to-the-chase/299273/14 "2005-04-15T06:47:23Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > As far as etymologists are concerned … _verbal_ usage doesn’t count… Yes, it does, in fact nothing \*else \*counts. \*\*Oral \*\*usage, however … ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cut-to-the-chase/299273/15 "2005-04-15T13:53:40Z")
Oh, Bite Me! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cut-to-the-chase/299273/16 "2005-04-15T13:54:50Z")
HEY! THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE IN ALL CAPS! WHY DID THIS FREAKING SOFTWARE QUIET MY YELLING? I hate it when software is more polite than I. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cut-to-the-chase/299273/17 "2005-04-15T22:39:36Z")
[QUOTE=dropzone] Yeah, but did he get it in print? As far as etymologists are concerned (and for convincing Ed I didn’t make it up from teh whole cloth by having enough references) _verbal_ usage doesn’t count.QUOTE] No, sadly, I do not have a printed source to cite. I can, however, post a cite dated 1943 that explains that the phrase “the whole nine yards” refers to the amount of chaff carried by Allied planes during WW2. During intense anti-aircraft fire, the pilots would “cut to the chaff” and give it “the whole nine yards.” But I’m not going to share. ---
**Author:** ![ItBitKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ea666f/32.png) [@ItBitKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ItBitKitty)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cut-to-the-chase/299273/18 "2005-04-18T07:02:19Z")
Having worked in the horse buisness for almost 15 years I can say that I believe the term may have originated a very long time ago in referance to hunting, as in yah here we are riding around waiting for the dogs to flush out something and shooting the shit…oh crap, found a deer, fox, whatever we better cut to the chase…? maby. could be wrong but seems more likely to me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cut-to-the-chase/299273/19 "2005-04-18T12:42:52Z")
Welcome to the Straight Dope Message Boards, **ItBitKitty** , we’re glad to have you with us. In this case, your opinion frankly is mildly amusing but not worth very much: it’s clearly wrong. While lots of phrase origins are murky, this one isn’t. The first written appearance of the phrase, as noted in [the Staff Report under discussion](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mchaff.html) was 1927 as a script direction. Let me also take this opportunity to debunk the notion that it started as an anagram for “Cut [to] the **C** ollar **H** arnessing **A** round [Jimmy] **S** tewart’s **E** lephant,” a reference to the trying to free the pachyderm in movie GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cut-to-the-chase/299273/20 "2005-04-18T13:50:46Z")
Chill, **Dex**. It was MY report so I get to be the wiseass. I get so few opportunities on this message board. 😉 Thank you for your hypothesis, **ItBitKitty** , since, if my experience on this message board is any indication, my greatest joy is being proven wrong as publicly and embarassingly as possible. Do you have any citations with which you can support your suggestion? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cut-to-the-chase/299273.md?page=2)