dot the i's and cross the t's

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb

To take care of every detail, even minor ones; to be meticulous or thorough; to finish off something close to complete.

Pronunciation

/ˌdɒt ði ˈaɪz ən ˌkɹɒs ðə ˈtiːz/ /ˌdɑt ði ˈaɪz ən ˌkɹɔs ðə ˈtiz/ /ˌdɔt ðɘ ˈɒez ɘn ˌkɹɔs ðɘ ˈtɘiz/ en-us-dot the i's and cross the t's.ogg en-us-dot the i's and cross the t's.oga en-au-dot the i's and cross the t's.ogg

Word forms

dot the i's and cross the t's dots the i's and crosses the t's dotting the i's and crossing the t's dotted the i's and crossed the t's dot the i's dot one's i's and cross one's t's cross the t's and dot the i's cross the i's and dot the t's

Etymology

In reference to cursive (joined up) writing, where adding the dot to the letter i and the crossbar to the letter t is done after one reaches the end of the word and thus may be forgotten if one is not being careful.

Related words

i-dotter i-dotting cross someone's T jot and tittle mind one's p's and q's

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.

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