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Glite Dictionary
to cut to the nitty-gritty

to cut to the nitty-gritty

7.4
Start talking about the most important details of a topic
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : ir al grano
  • Let's cut to the nitty-gritty and discuss the budget for the project.

Examples

  • If everyone agrees, we can cut to the nitty-gritty and make a decision.

  • After a long introduction, the speaker finally cut to the nitty-gritty of the proposal.

  • Let's cut to the nitty-gritty of the project.

  • Can we cut to the nitty-gritty now?

  • After a long introduction, the speaker finally cut to the nitty-gritty of the proposal.

  • If everyone agrees, we can cut to the nitty-gritty and make a decision.

  • Let's cut to the nitty-gritty and discuss the budget for the project.

Synonyms

to get to the point
vsto cut to the nitty-gritty
  • Informal
126 3.1

Talk about the most important part without extra details

aims at fundamental details rather than brief relevance or brevity
to get down to brass tacks
vsto cut to the nitty-gritty
  • Informal
3 7.4

Start talking about the most important details

is the same idea but expressed with another common idiom
to get down to the nitty-gritty
vsto cut to the nitty-gritty
  • Informal
2 6.6

To start dealing with the most important details

is identical in meaning but uses a different informal phrasing
to hash the details
vsto cut to the nitty-gritty
  • Informal
1 6.5

To talk about the exact parts of a plan to reach an agreement

starts with core essentials rather than negotiating smaller finer points
to get down to bedrock
vsto cut to the nitty-gritty
7.4

To deal with the most basic problems in a situation

focuses more on specific core details rather than broad foundations
to drill into the detail
vsto cut to the nitty-gritty
6.3

To look closely at the small parts of a plan or report to understand it

focuses on beginning with central essentials rather than deep detailed study

Antonyms

to ignore
∞ 1.0

Choose not to pay attention to someone or something

to overlook
243 2.9

To not notice someone or something you should see

How Fundamental

to cut to the nitty-gritty
  • Informal
7.4
to get to the point
  • Informal
126 3.1
to address
∞ 3.6
to mention
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

cut to the nitty-gritty infinitive
cut to the nitty-gritty past
cut to the nitty-gritty past participle
cutting to the nitty-gritty present participle
cuts to the nitty-gritty third person singular

Morphology

cut + to + the + nitty-gritty

The key noun 'nitty-gritty' is an idiomatic compound whose meaning ('the essential, practical details') is not transparently derivable from 'nitty' + 'gritty', and the verb phrase 'cut to' only signals moving directly to something without specifying that that something is the essentials. Because the central lexical piece is opaque and the construction does not make the idiomatic sense predictable, a B1 learner who only knows the literal constituents would not reliably infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

Cut to the nitty-gritty shows cut as slicing away layers until you reach the tiny, rough bits called the nitty-gritty, a simple image of getting down to what is left. So, it means 'get to the main point'.