got down to brass tacks
Tackled core matters
Got down to brass tacks means started dealing with the essential or most important aspects of a matter, setting aside preliminaries and distractions.
The phrase suggests a move from vague discussion to concrete specifics.
After an hour of small talk, we finally got down to brass tacks and negotiated the contract terms.
The expression typically appears in past tense, though the base form get down to brass tacks is also common when urging directness.
- zero inFocus with precision
- cut to the chaseSkip to essentials
- cut the crapCease speaking nonsense
- get crackingBegin working urgently
- bottom lineEssential point or conclusion
root cause · buckle down · nitty-gritty · nuts and bolts · heart of the matter · no-nonsense · straight shooter · get down to business · get to the point · clarify · meat and potatoes · straight talk · lay it on the line · plain and simple · hone in · drill down · take the bull by the horns · get real
got down to brass tacksbeat around the bush
Avoid stating directly
shot the breeze · hedged · waffled · dithered · hemmed and hawed
got down to brass tacksprocrastinated
Postponed action unnecessarily
dilly-dallied · stalled · dawdled · dragged one's feet · puttered around
gotten, downed, downing, downs, downer, downward, downwards, brass, brasses