brass tacks

brass tacks

noun Informal.
the most fundamental considerations; essentials; realities (usually used in the phrase get down to brass tacks ).

Origin:
1895–1900

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World English Dictionary
brass tacks
 
pl n
informal basic realities; hard facts (esp in the phrase get down to brass tacks)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10
Brass tacks is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
Slang Dictionary

brass tacks definition


  1. n.
    essential business. (Usually in get down to brass tacks.) : Now that we are talking brass tacks, how much do you really want for this watch?
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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