"by the book" meaning in English

See by the book in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Prepositional phrase

Audio: en-au-by the book.ogg
Head templates: {{head|en|prepositional phrase|head=}} by the book, {{en-PP}} by the book
  1. (idiomatic) In a manner which strictly adheres to rules, legal requirements, or official procedures. Tags: idiomatic
    Sense id: en-by_the_book-en-prep_phrase-IDK5Wulf Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Macedonian translations, Terms with Mon translations, Terms with Polish translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Spanish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 50 50 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 51 49 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 51 49 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 51 49 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 53 47 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 54 46 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 53 47 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 54 46 Disambiguation of Terms with Macedonian translations: 53 47 Disambiguation of Terms with Mon translations: 54 46 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 53 47 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 54 46 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 55 45
  2. (idiomatic, by extension) In a manner which appears too studied, ritualized, and therefore artificial. Tags: broadly, idiomatic
    Sense id: en-by_the_book-en-prep_phrase-HGQxrOSF Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Macedonian translations, Terms with Mon translations, Terms with Polish translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Spanish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 50 50 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 51 49 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 51 49 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 51 49 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 53 47 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 54 46 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 53 47 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 54 46 Disambiguation of Terms with Macedonian translations: 53 47 Disambiguation of Terms with Mon translations: 54 46 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 53 47 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 54 46 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 55 45
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: by-the-book [attributive] Related terms: by the numbers, according to Hoyle, legalism, literalism, proceduralism, to the letter, shipshape and Bristol fashion Translations (in a manner which adheres strictly to rules): sääntöjen mukaan (Finnish), à la lettre (French), au pied de la lettre (French), littéralement (French), dans les clous (French), vorschriftsmäßig (German), nach Vorschrift (German), come da manuale (Italian), прописно (propisno) (Macedonian), နကဵုလိက်ဂှ် (Mon), zgodnie z przepisami (Polish), по всем правилам (po vsem pravilam) (Russian), строго по инструкции (strogo po instrukcii) (Russian), a toda ley (Spanish)
Disambiguation of 'in a manner which adheres strictly to rules': 53 47
{
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prepositional phrase",
        "head": ""
      },
      "expansion": "by the book",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "by the book",
      "name": "en-PP"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prep_phrase",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "by the numbers"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "according to Hoyle"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "legalism"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "literalism"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "proceduralism"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "to the letter"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "shipshape and Bristol fashion"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "50 50",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "51 49",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "51 49",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "51 49",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "53 47",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "54 46",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "53 47",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "54 46",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Italian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "53 47",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Macedonian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "54 46",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Mon translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "53 47",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Polish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "54 46",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "55 45",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2006 August 27, Simon Robinson, “It's Not Just Cricket”, in Time:",
          "text": "As far as he is concerned, he umpired by the book.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "In a manner which strictly adheres to rules, legal requirements, or official procedures."
      ],
      "id": "en-by_the_book-en-prep_phrase-IDK5Wulf",
      "links": [
        [
          "manner",
          "manner"
        ],
        [
          "strictly",
          "strictly"
        ],
        [
          "adhere",
          "adhere"
        ],
        [
          "rule",
          "rule"
        ],
        [
          "legal",
          "legal"
        ],
        [
          "requirement",
          "requirement"
        ],
        [
          "official",
          "official"
        ],
        [
          "procedure",
          "procedure"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) In a manner which strictly adheres to rules, legal requirements, or official procedures."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "50 50",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "51 49",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "51 49",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "51 49",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "53 47",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "54 46",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "53 47",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "54 46",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Italian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "53 47",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Macedonian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "54 46",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Mon translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "53 47",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Polish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "54 46",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "55 45",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene v]:",
          "text": "Romeo: Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged!\nGive me my sin again.\nThey kiss again.\nJuliet: You kiss by th' book.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "In a manner which appears too studied, ritualized, and therefore artificial."
      ],
      "id": "en-by_the_book-en-prep_phrase-HGQxrOSF",
      "links": [
        [
          "studied",
          "studied"
        ],
        [
          "ritualized",
          "ritualized"
        ],
        [
          "artificial",
          "artificial"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, by extension) In a manner which appears too studied, ritualized, and therefore artificial."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-by the book.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/5e/En-au-by_the_book.ogg/En-au-by_the_book.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/En-au-by_the_book.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "tags": [
        "attributive"
      ],
      "word": "by-the-book"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "_dis1": "53 47",
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "in a manner which adheres strictly to rules",
      "word": "sääntöjen mukaan"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "53 47",
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "in a manner which adheres strictly to rules",
      "word": "à la lettre"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "53 47",
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "in a manner which adheres strictly to rules",
      "word": "au pied de la lettre"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "53 47",
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "in a manner which adheres strictly to rules",
      "word": "littéralement"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "53 47",
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "in a manner which adheres strictly to rules",
      "word": "dans les clous"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "53 47",
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "in a manner which adheres strictly to rules",
      "word": "vorschriftsmäßig"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "53 47",
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "in a manner which adheres strictly to rules",
      "word": "nach Vorschrift"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "53 47",
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "in a manner which adheres strictly to rules",
      "word": "come da manuale"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "53 47",
      "code": "mk",
      "lang": "Macedonian",
      "roman": "propisno",
      "sense": "in a manner which adheres strictly to rules",
      "word": "прописно"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "53 47",
      "code": "mnw",
      "lang": "Mon",
      "sense": "in a manner which adheres strictly to rules",
      "word": "နကဵုလိက်ဂှ်"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "53 47",
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "in a manner which adheres strictly to rules",
      "word": "zgodnie z przepisami"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "53 47",
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "po vsem pravilam",
      "sense": "in a manner which adheres strictly to rules",
      "word": "по всем правилам"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "53 47",
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "strogo po instrukcii",
      "sense": "in a manner which adheres strictly to rules",
      "word": "строго по инструкции"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "53 47",
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "in a manner which adheres strictly to rules",
      "word": "a toda ley"
    }
  ],
  "word": "by the book"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English prepositional phrases",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Italian translations",
    "Terms with Macedonian translations",
    "Terms with Mon translations",
    "Terms with Polish translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations"
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prepositional phrase",
        "head": ""
      },
      "expansion": "by the book",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "by the book",
      "name": "en-PP"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prep_phrase",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "by the numbers"
    },
    {
      "word": "according to Hoyle"
    },
    {
      "word": "legalism"
    },
    {
      "word": "literalism"
    },
    {
      "word": "proceduralism"
    },
    {
      "word": "to the letter"
    },
    {
      "word": "shipshape and Bristol fashion"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2006 August 27, Simon Robinson, “It's Not Just Cricket”, in Time:",
          "text": "As far as he is concerned, he umpired by the book.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "In a manner which strictly adheres to rules, legal requirements, or official procedures."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "manner",
          "manner"
        ],
        [
          "strictly",
          "strictly"
        ],
        [
          "adhere",
          "adhere"
        ],
        [
          "rule",
          "rule"
        ],
        [
          "legal",
          "legal"
        ],
        [
          "requirement",
          "requirement"
        ],
        [
          "official",
          "official"
        ],
        [
          "procedure",
          "procedure"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) In a manner which strictly adheres to rules, legal requirements, or official procedures."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene v]:",
          "text": "Romeo: Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged!\nGive me my sin again.\nThey kiss again.\nJuliet: You kiss by th' book.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "In a manner which appears too studied, ritualized, and therefore artificial."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "studied",
          "studied"
        ],
        [
          "ritualized",
          "ritualized"
        ],
        [
          "artificial",
          "artificial"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, by extension) In a manner which appears too studied, ritualized, and therefore artificial."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-by the book.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/5e/En-au-by_the_book.ogg/En-au-by_the_book.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/En-au-by_the_book.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "tags": [
        "attributive"
      ],
      "word": "by-the-book"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "in a manner which adheres strictly to rules",
      "word": "sääntöjen mukaan"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "in a manner which adheres strictly to rules",
      "word": "à la lettre"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "in a manner which adheres strictly to rules",
      "word": "au pied de la lettre"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "in a manner which adheres strictly to rules",
      "word": "littéralement"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "in a manner which adheres strictly to rules",
      "word": "dans les clous"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "in a manner which adheres strictly to rules",
      "word": "vorschriftsmäßig"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "in a manner which adheres strictly to rules",
      "word": "nach Vorschrift"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "in a manner which adheres strictly to rules",
      "word": "come da manuale"
    },
    {
      "code": "mk",
      "lang": "Macedonian",
      "roman": "propisno",
      "sense": "in a manner which adheres strictly to rules",
      "word": "прописно"
    },
    {
      "code": "mnw",
      "lang": "Mon",
      "sense": "in a manner which adheres strictly to rules",
      "word": "နကဵုလိက်ဂှ်"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "in a manner which adheres strictly to rules",
      "word": "zgodnie z przepisami"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "po vsem pravilam",
      "sense": "in a manner which adheres strictly to rules",
      "word": "по всем правилам"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "strogo po instrukcii",
      "sense": "in a manner which adheres strictly to rules",
      "word": "строго по инструкции"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "in a manner which adheres strictly to rules",
      "word": "a toda ley"
    }
  ],
  "word": "by the book"
}

Download raw JSONL data for by the book meaning in English (4.6kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-01-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-01-01 using wiktextract (f889f65 and 8fbd9e8). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.