basic

back to basics

Returning to the fundamental aspects of something. Since you're struggling to play chords, let's get back to basics and look at the notes on the scale.
See also: back, basic

basic

slang Describing one who likes stereotypically trendy things. Primarily heard in US. I'm not trying to be basic, I just love going to Starbucks.

basic bitch

rude slang One who likes stereotypically trendy things. Primarily heard in US. I'm not a basic bitch, I just love going to Starbucks, OK?
See also: basic, bitch

basic decency

Common, everyday courtesy, respect, and politeness that is expected and assumed by social convention. Please have the basic decency to at least consult me before you make some extravagant purchase. It is an assumed basic decency that you should help someone if they are in distress.
See also: basic, decency

get back to basics

To return to the fundamental aspects of something. Since you're struggling to play chords, let's get back to basics and look at the notes on the scale.
See also: back, basic, get

go back to basics

To return to the fundamental aspects of something. Since you're struggling to play chords, let's go back to basics and look at the notes on the scale.
See also: back, basic, go
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

back to basics

return to basic instruction; start the learning process over again. Class, you seem to have forgotten the simplest of facts, so it's back to basics for the first week of classes.
See also: back, basic
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

back to basics

Back to fundamental principles, as in The plans are much too elaborate; to stay in our budget we have to get back to basics. At first this term was used mainly for schooling that stresses proficiency in reading, writing, and mathematics (also see three R's), but it quickly was transferred to other areas. [1970s]
See also: back, basic
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

get back to basics

or

go back to basics

If you get back to basics or go back to basics, you concentrate on simple, important ideas or activities. It helps to get back to basics and say explicitly how we want to satisfy our target customer. This is about going back to basics, learning about a healthy diet and approaching food in a new way. Note: Back-to-basics can be used before nouns. We need a new back-to-basics drive to raise standards of literacy in Britain's schools.
See also: back, basic, get
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

back to basics

abandoning complication and sophistication to concentrate on the most essential aspects of something.
Back to basics is often used to suggest the moral superiority of the plain and simple, as in a speech made in 1993 by the British Conservative leader John Major , who spearheaded the government's campaign for the regeneration of basic family and educational values in the 1990s.
See also: back, basic
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

get/go back to ˈbasics

think about the simple or most important ideas within a subject or an activity instead of new ideas or complicated details: It’s time for us all to get back to basics and concentrate on what really matters.
See also: back, basic, get, go
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • back to basics
  • get back to basics
  • get/go back to basics
  • go back to basics
  • have a long way to go
  • the meat and potatoes
  • get down to the nuts and bolts
  • the nuts and bolts
  • the nuts and bolts of something
  • nuts and bolts, the
References in periodicals archive
Global Ethyl Alcohol And Other Basic Organic Chemical Market, Growth And Market Share Comparison, By Region
Jamie Cooke, head of RSA Scotland, said: "Basic income is increasingly of global interest and Scotland is at the brink of doing something very different and bringing the first basic income pilots to the UK.
The RSA's report states how "child destitution would vanish almost immediately" if a basic income was introduced.
Dima Rashid al Rashdi from Fayid al Maarifa School for Basic Education
According to him, building up of any country lies on the quality of her basic education that must be free, accessible and universal without leaving out any child of school going age.
A universal basic income means not only that millions of people would receive unconditional cash payments, but also that millions of people would have to cough up thousands more in taxes to fund it.
Further, Basic Energy is also looking at a 10-percent equity investment in a 25-MW biomass power plant project in Japan, where VHJ is a major shareholder.
This dilemma was noted in a 2005 National Academies report on defense basic research.
She suggested that HHS officials might be afraid that letting the basic plans start up could hurt the PPACA exchange system.
Chen noted that since 2008, the accumulated hike of basic wage has reached 8.7%, higher than the increase of the average wages of the manufacturing industry, the industry, and the service industry, as well as the consumer price index.
At the second level of basic education schools (girls), Al Qurum School for basic education stood first, followed by Darsit School for basic education.
metro areas Gallup and Healthways surveyed in 2009, Holland-Grand Haven, Mich., led the nation in providing basic necessities to its residents.
In 2005, both the reading and math NAEP reports called attention to the Basic level.
Any high school to college-level student wishing to master the basics of math needs these comprehensive references that clarifies and explain basic math principles.
Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) was developed by the community and technical colleges in Washington State to increase the rate at which adult basic skills students enter and succeed in postsecondary occupational education and training.