1.to beat around the bush – menare il can per l’aia
to avoid talking about what is important
Don’t beat around the bush – get to the point! – Non menate il can per l’aia: andate al sodo!
2.to cut/make a long story short – farla breve, tutto sommato
used when you are explaining what happened in a few words, without giving all the details
Long story short: she sold our car. – Per farla breve: ha venduto la nostra auto.
3.to cut to the chase – andare al sodo
to talk about or deal with the important parts of a subject and not waste time with things that are not important
I cut to the chase and asked whether he was still married. – Sono andata al sodo e gli ho chiesto se fosse ancora sposato.
4.to get to the point – arrivare al punto
to reach the main or most important idea of something that is said or written
It took several minutes for her to get to the point. – Ci sono voluti diversi minuti prima che arrivasse al punto.
5.to spit it out – „sputare” fuori
used to tell someone to start speaking or to speak more quickly, when they are unwilling to speak or are speaking slowly
Come on, spit it out, who told you about my boyfriend? – Dai, sputa il rospo, chi ti ha detto del mio ragazzo?
sources: Cambridge Dictionary; Macmillan Dictionary
to avoid – evitare
to explain – esprimere
without giving all the details – senza dire tutti i dettagli
to deal with – occuparsi di qualcosa
subject – argomento
to waste time with – sprecare tempo con qualcosa
to reach the main idea – raggiungere l’idea principale
unwilling – riluttante
