See get down to brass tacks in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
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"etymology_text": "Uncertain. Earliest attestation in 1863 US, specifically Texas. One theory is that it comes from the brass tacks in the counter of a hardware store or draper’s shop used to measure cloth in precise units (rather than holding one end to the nose and stretching out the arm to approximately one yard). Another possibility is the 19th-century American practice of using brass tacks to spell out the initials of the deceased on the top of their coffin.",
"forms": [
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"form": "getting down to brass tacks",
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"examples": [
{
"text": "1863, January 21, 1863, The Tri-Weekly Telegraph, newspaper of Houston, Texas\nWhen you come down to brass tacks – if we may be allowed the expression – everybody is governed by selfishness."
},
{
"ref": "1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:",
"text": "\"But I called here with a purpose. I expect you are a busy man and I know that I am, so I'll get down to the brass tacks.\"",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"text": "1935, Clifford Odets, Waiting for Lefty\nThat's no answer. Get down to brass tacks."
},
{
"text": "1972, Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream\nLet's get down to brass tacks here. How much for the ape?"
},
{
"text": "1979, Stephen King, The Dead Zone\nWe're gonna stop playing games with these Arabs and get down to brass tacks!"
},
{
"ref": "1994, Quentin Tarantino, Roger Avary, Pulp Fiction, spoken by The Wolf (Harvey Keitel):",
"text": "You must be Jules, which would make you Vincent. Let's get down to brass tacks, gentlemen. If I was informed correctly, the clock is ticking. Is that right, Jimmie?",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2023 April 2, Pippa Crerar, Robyn Vinter, quoting Lisa Nandy, “Suella Braverman denies Brexit to blame for Dover queues of 14 hours”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:",
"text": "And if the government got a grip, got down to brass tacks and started doing their actual job, all these things could be avoided.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To start to discuss or consider the most important details or facts about something."
],
"id": "en-get_down_to_brass_tacks-en-verb-TCxT623i",
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"(idiomatic, chiefly US) To start to discuss or consider the most important details or facts about something."
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"word": "drill down"
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{
"word": "get down to bedrock"
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{
"word": "get down to business"
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{
"word": "get down to cases"
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{
"word": "get right down to cases"
},
{
"word": "get down to the nitty-gritty"
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{
"word": "get down to nuts and bolts"
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{
"word": "roll up one's sleeves"
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{
"word": "cut to the chase"
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"translations": [
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "ter zake komen"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "mennä asiaan"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "käydä asiaan"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "passer aux choses sérieuses"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "zur Sache kommen"
},
{
"code": "is",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "koma sér að efninu"
},
{
"code": "is",
"english": "brass tacks, the heart of the matter",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "kjarni málsins"
},
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"code": "is",
"english": "brass tacks, facts",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"tags": [
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"word": "staðreyndirnar"
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{
"code": "is",
"english": "brass tacks, the relevant issues",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "þau atriði sem máli skipta"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "darsi da fare"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "rimboccarsi le maniche"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "venire al sodo"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "darsi una mossa"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "entrare nei dettagli"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
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"word": "przechodzić do rzeczy"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"tags": [
"perfective"
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"word": "przejść do rzeczy"
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{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "perexoditʹ k suti dela",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "переходить к сути дела"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "ir al grano"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "komma till saken"
},
{
"code": "uk",
"lang": "Ukrainian",
"roman": "perejty do spravy",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "перейти до справи"
},
{
"code": "uk",
"lang": "Ukrainian",
"roman": "perejty do suti",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "перейти до суті"
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"word": "get down to brass tacks"
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"Terms with Polish translations",
"Terms with Russian translations",
"Terms with Spanish translations",
"Terms with Swedish translations",
"Terms with Ukrainian translations"
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"examples": [
{
"text": "1863, January 21, 1863, The Tri-Weekly Telegraph, newspaper of Houston, Texas\nWhen you come down to brass tacks – if we may be allowed the expression – everybody is governed by selfishness."
},
{
"ref": "1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:",
"text": "\"But I called here with a purpose. I expect you are a busy man and I know that I am, so I'll get down to the brass tacks.\"",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"text": "1935, Clifford Odets, Waiting for Lefty\nThat's no answer. Get down to brass tacks."
},
{
"text": "1972, Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream\nLet's get down to brass tacks here. How much for the ape?"
},
{
"text": "1979, Stephen King, The Dead Zone\nWe're gonna stop playing games with these Arabs and get down to brass tacks!"
},
{
"ref": "1994, Quentin Tarantino, Roger Avary, Pulp Fiction, spoken by The Wolf (Harvey Keitel):",
"text": "You must be Jules, which would make you Vincent. Let's get down to brass tacks, gentlemen. If I was informed correctly, the clock is ticking. Is that right, Jimmie?",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2023 April 2, Pippa Crerar, Robyn Vinter, quoting Lisa Nandy, “Suella Braverman denies Brexit to blame for Dover queues of 14 hours”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:",
"text": "And if the government got a grip, got down to brass tacks and started doing their actual job, all these things could be avoided.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To start to discuss or consider the most important details or facts about something."
],
"links": [
[
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]
],
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"(idiomatic, chiefly US) To start to discuss or consider the most important details or facts about something."
],
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"idiomatic"
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"synonyms": [
{
"word": "drill down"
},
{
"word": "get down to bedrock"
},
{
"word": "get down to business"
},
{
"word": "get down to cases"
},
{
"word": "get right down to cases"
},
{
"word": "get down to the nitty-gritty"
},
{
"word": "get down to nuts and bolts"
},
{
"word": "roll up one's sleeves"
},
{
"word": "cut to the chase"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "ter zake komen"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "mennä asiaan"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "käydä asiaan"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "passer aux choses sérieuses"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "zur Sache kommen"
},
{
"code": "is",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "koma sér að efninu"
},
{
"code": "is",
"english": "brass tacks, the heart of the matter",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "kjarni málsins"
},
{
"code": "is",
"english": "brass tacks, facts",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"tags": [
"feminine",
"plural"
],
"word": "staðreyndirnar"
},
{
"code": "is",
"english": "brass tacks, the relevant issues",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "þau atriði sem máli skipta"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "darsi da fare"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "rimboccarsi le maniche"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "venire al sodo"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "darsi una mossa"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "entrare nei dettagli"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "przechodzić do rzeczy"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"tags": [
"perfective"
],
"word": "przejść do rzeczy"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "perexoditʹ k suti dela",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "переходить к сути дела"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "ir al grano"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "komma till saken"
},
{
"code": "uk",
"lang": "Ukrainian",
"roman": "perejty do spravy",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "перейти до справи"
},
{
"code": "uk",
"lang": "Ukrainian",
"roman": "perejty do suti",
"sense": "deal with the important details",
"word": "перейти до суті"
}
],
"word": "get down to brass tacks"
}
Download raw JSONL data for get down to brass tacks meaning in English (7.1kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (fbeafe8 and 7f03c9b). 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.