“He placed brass tacks on the surface.”
Idioms Entry 190 / 1605 60-second read
Get Down to Brass Tacks
Focus on the essential facts; stop wasting time on details.
The comparisoni
“Let's get down to brass tacks — how much is this going to cost?”
The ruleii
¶
GET DOWN TO BRASS TACKS = focus on the essentials.
Historical origin unclear, but now means getting to the bottom line.
Memory aidiii
Remember it like this
Brass tacks = the real, solid foundation.