get down to brass tacks

== English == === 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. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ɡɛt ˈdaʊn tə bɹɑːs ˈtæks/ (General American) IPA(key): /ɡɛt ˈdaʊn tə bɹæs ˈtæks/ Rhymes: -æks === Verb === get down to brass tacks (third-person singular simple present gets down to brass tacks, present participle getting down to brass tacks, simple past got down to brass tacks, past participle gotten down to brass tacks or got down to brass tacks) (originally and chiefly US, idiomatic) To (start to) consider or deal with the most important details or facts about something. ==== Synonyms ==== ==== Translations ==== === References === === Further reading === “to come (also get) down to brass tacks (or nails), phrase” under “brass, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2025. “get down to brass tacks, phrase” under “brass, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022. “get down to brass tacks”, in Collins English Dictionary, 2011–present.