抜きwithout; leaving out
After a noun, 抜き leaves out something that would normally be part of it: no wasabi, no breakfast, no jokes. The long form を抜きにしては…ない is formal: "cannot … without".
setting aside
Please set personal feelings aside and look only at the facts.
cannot … without
This project could never have happened without Ms. Sato's help.
Without
Noun + 抜きで／抜きに
Nothing comes between: わさび抜き. It works like a noun: わさび抜きの寿司, 今日は昼抜きだ, no lunch today.
Setting aside
Noun + は抜きにして
Also with を: 感情を抜きにして.
Cannot … without
Noun + を抜きにしては + a negative
Shorter: 抜きには, 抜きでは.
Leaving a part out
What comes out is a part of something: an ingredient, a meal, a member of the group, a step.
You can order this curry without meat.
I had no time this morning, so I went out without breakfast.
Today we talked over the coming schedule without the manager.
In a restaurant the phrase alone is the order: ねぎ抜きで, 氷抜きで. On a price tag, 税抜き is "before tax".
抜き or なしで?
なしで is the plain "without", for anything that isn't there. With food, both are said. A reservation or an umbrella isn't a part you take out, so there people say なしで.
Not said: 予約抜きで
(We got in without a reservation.)
予約なしで入れた.
冗談抜きで and the like
A few fixed phrases open a remark: you drop the jokes, the flattery or the lead-in and say what you mean. Here 抜きに is common too; with food and people it is nearly always 抜きで.
冗談抜きでseriously; no kidding
Seriously, you should evacuate right now.
お世辞抜きにno flattery; honestly
Honestly, no flattery: this presentation was the best one.
前置き抜きにwithout preamble
I'll skip the preamble and start with the conclusion.
は抜きにして says it in full, often to move people on: "let's skip …".
Let's skip the formal speeches and drink a toast.
を抜きにしては: cannot … without
Formal: essays, speeches, thanks. You name something at the heart of the matter and say it can't be left out. The ending is a negative or as good as one: 語れない (can't be discussed), 考えられない, 難しい.
You can't talk about how this technology developed without the years of basic research behind it.
We could not have kept this project going this long without your support.
You can't talk about Japanese food culture without rice.
To a friend it is ～がいなかったら or ～がなければ.
Close neighbours
なしで・なしにN1
After a noun, the plain "without": 予約なしで, 休みなしに. With は and a negative it is "cannot … without".
This project can't continue without the agreement of local people.
を除いてN2
"Except for", in notices and reports: the sentence is about everything but the one thing named.
The counter is open on weekdays, excluding public holidays.
ぬくN3
After a verb stem, 抜く is getting through something hard, right to the end.
This job won't be easy, but let's see it through to the end.
Check yourself
1"I walked home in the rain without an umbrella."
雨の
Choose an answer to see why.
2What does this mean?
冗談抜きで、
Choose an answer to see why.
3Which ending fits?
彼女の
Choose an answer to see why.
More detail
The verb is 抜く, to pull out or to skip: 朝食を抜く, to skip breakfast.
Some words ending in 抜き are just words: 息抜き (a breather), 手抜き (cutting corners), 栓抜き (a bottle opener).
More sentences
This time we negotiated without an interpreter.
This sauce can be made without butter.
Let's skip the tiresome formalities and get straight to work.
You can't fully explain this novel's appeal without the society of its time.
It would be hard to go ahead with the plan without the local residents' understanding.