Beat about the bush

[Tinker]

Where does the phrase beat about the bush come from? i know it means 'cut to the chase', but where does it come from? while we're at it, where does 'cut to the chase' come from as well?!?!

[Quizmonster]

Beat about the bush' comes from hunting and has meant to make preliminary preparations since the 1500s. The original meaning was to use beaters to make game birds and animals break cover (the bushes) so that the hunter could have a go at them. Nowadays, using 'don't', we mean 'cut out all the preliminary waffle and get to the point'.
For 'cut to the chase' click http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19970730

[Clanad]

Actually, the phrases are opposed to one another.  'Beat about (or around) the bush', originated with the hunting of birds, primarily, during which the serfs would 'beat the bushes' with rods or other implements to flush out birds for nobelmen's hunting.  This sometimes applied to other game as well. This came to mean not going directly to the main point but "beating around" it to avoid confrontation.  Whereas, 'cut to the chase' means to go directly to the main point.  Seems to have originated in the early days of film making where scenes considered mundane were edited or "cut" and the film proceeded to the "chase" scene, which audiences found more entertaining...

[Tinker]

nice one guys