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the meat of the matter

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the meat of the matter

The most important, basic, or fundamental essence or element(s) of an issue, problem, or matter at hand. Thank you all for attending this staff meeting. Before we get to the meat of the matter, I'd like to assure each of you that your jobs are secure. Here's the meat of the matter, Bill: we feel you've not been meeting the standards of work that we should be expecting of you in recent weeks.

See also: matter, meat, of