# get down to brass tacks

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/get-down-to-brass-tacks
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To (start to) consider or deal with the most important details or facts about something.

## Examples

- Let's stop talking and get down to brass tacks.
- The meeting was long, so the manager asked the team to get down to brass tacks and discuss the budget.
- After hours of polite but unproductive debate, the committee finally decided to get down to brass tacks and address the core financial issues.

## Origin

The origin of the phrase is uncertain, though it is likely a variant of the earlier expression *down to the brass*, which appears in writing as early as 1854. One theory suggests the tacks in question were those used in upholstery, which a craftsman must remove to reach the frame of a piece of furniture, or the brass markers hammered into the counters of drapers and hardware merchants to ensure precise measurement by the yard. Another possibility links the term to the business of the undertaker. In this version, the brass tacks are those used to seal a coffin lid or to arrange the initials of the deceased upon it. Reaching these tacks would therefore imply the conclusion of a matter, or perhaps a turn toward a subject as serious as death itself. (disputed)

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.