JbRAd's Things You Didn't Know

Why do we say "Cut to the chase"?

As you know, this expression urges the listener to get to the point immediately, without wasting time.

In theatrical history, an earlier version of the phrase (1880-1940) was "Cut to Hecuba". Matinee crowds were notoriously impatient, and producers would often instruct the cast to "Cut to Hecuba" while performing the matinee version of Hamlet - that was a cue to drop all the long speeches in Act II., Sc. ii, and jump directly to the reference to Hecuba, she who sought revenge by scratching out the eyes of her son's killer with her bare hands. That would get anyone's attention. 

But in the 1920s  movies replaced theatre as the most popular form of mass entertainment, and recondite references to Greek mythology needed updating.

Most early silent films consisted of initial introductory sequences, which would then branch out into fairly standard romantic/comedic/dramatic plots. But they almost inevitably climaxed in a chase scene. Writers, directors, and producers who feared that the exposition or the storyline was getting too complicated or boring would often simply "Cut to the Chase" - i.e., forget all that tedious storytelling and jump right to the chase sequence most of the audience had come to see. Thus - Cut to the Chase.

Now go forth, impress all your friends, become the life of the party, and never forget you learned it all here.