get down to brass tacks

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb

To (start to) consider or deal with the most important details or facts about something.

Pronunciation

/ɡɛt ˈdaʊn tə bɹɑːs ˈtæks/ /ɡɛt ˈdaʊn tə bɹæs ˈtæks/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-get down to brass tacks.wav En-au-get down to brass tacks.ogg

Word forms

get down to brass tacks gets down to brass tacks getting down to brass tacks got down to brass tacks gotten down to brass tacks

Etymology

The origin is uncertain. It is probably a variant of the earlier term down to the brass (see, for example, the 1854 quotation), and the following etymologies have been suggested: * The term refers to the brass tacks used in upholstery which have to be removed when a piece of furniture is reupholstered, or brass tacks stuck into the counter of a draper’s shop or hardware store to measure items precisely in yards. * Another possibility is that the brass tacks are nails used to seal coffin lids, or tacks used to decorate or indicate a deceased person’s initials on such lids, and thus the term refers to dealing with matters as serious as death.

Synonyms

come down to brass nails get down to brass nails cut to the chase drill down get down to bedrock get down to business get down to cases get right down to cases get down to nuts and bolts get down to the nitty-gritty roll up one's sleeves

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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