pith of the matter

pith of the matter

The core, central, essential, or most important part(s) or element(s) of some matter at hand. I'd love to sit and catch up with you, John, but let's get to the right to pith of the matter and start talking business. Your Honor and the jury will find that the pith of the matter is revealed by this single piece of evidence—the murder weapon, with the suspect's finger prints all over it.
See also: matter, of, pith
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • the meat of the matter
  • strike at the heart of (something)
  • strike at the root of
  • strike at the root of (something)
  • the root cause
  • root cause
  • sine qua non
  • a sine qua non
  • qua
  • boil down to something
References in periodicals archive
The truth is, lot tracking is more tangential to what FDA CFR Part 11 is all about, and far from being the pith of the matter. Yes, you must address lot tracking to be FDA-compliant, because lot tracking with integrity is an essential part of FDA-mandated GMPs.
Lots more than lot tracking! What FDA 21 CFR Part 11 is and is NOT
As argument about the sacrament proceeded at mid-century in Reformation England, there was general agreement, according to Cranmer, the reform-minded Archbishop of Canterbury, that "the very pith of the matter, and the chief point whereupon the whole controuersy hangeth, [is] whether in these words, 'This is my body,' Christ called bread his body." Cranmer noticeably shifts the issue from being to calling, from object to language, truth to interpretation.
Language and History in the Reformation: Cranmer, Gardiner, and the Words of Institution