get down to brass tacks
/ɡɛt ˈdaʊn tə bɹæs ˈtæks/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.64 in modern English
32
Scrabble Score
19
Letters
4
Syllables
13
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "He did not wish to delay action, but was ready to vote instanter.—A reference now would amount to a defeat of the memorial. It was better to come right down to the brass and vote."
- "When you come down to brass tacks—if we may be allowed the expression—everybody is governed by selfishness."
- "It would have been just as well for you to have gotten down to "brass tacks," in some of the statements you have been making about the bill instead of getting "down to brass tacks" now, if you leave it to me."
- "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."
- "[W]hen the conversation gets down to brass tacks it generally stays there, for there is no more to be said. In the region of brass tacks there are no irrelevancies or charming side-issues, and without these, of course, there is no conversation, everyone feels uncomfortable, and the guests who have come from Hampstead begin to murmur that it is time they were going home."
- "That's all the facts when you come to brass tacks: Birth, and copulation, and death."
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.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ɡɛt ˈdaʊn tə bɹæs ˈtæks/
- British English: /ɡɛt ˈdaʊn tə bɹɑːs ˈtæks/