nitty

Related to nitty: nifty, Netty, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

get down to brass tacks

To focus on the most important aspects of a particular situation. Let's get down to brass tacks so that everyone has a good grasp on the project overall before we split up to do our separate parts. Don't get overwhelmed with this case, just get down to brass tacks.
See also: brass, down, get, tack

get down to the nitty-gritty

To become focused on the most important or fundamental aspects of a particular situation. The manager always likes to begin the weekly meetings with an informal discussion before getting down to the nitty-gritty. We eventually got down to the nitty-gritty and came up with a solution.
See also: down, get

the nitty-gritty

The specific facts, details, or elements of something. The manager always likes to begin the weekly meetings with an informal discussion before getting down to the nitty-gritty.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

get down to brass tacks

Fig. to begin to talk about important things; to get down to business. Let's get down to brass tacks. We've wasted too much time chatting. Don't you think that it's about time to get down to brass tacks?
See also: brass, down, get, tack

get down to the nitty-gritty

to get down to the basic facts. Stop messing around and get down to the nitty-gritty. If we could only get down to the nitty-gritty and stop wasting time.
See also: down, get
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

get down to brass tacks

Also, get down to bedrock or the nitty gritty or cases . Deal with the essentials; come to the point. For example, Stop delaying and get down to brass tacks, or We really need to get down to bedrock, or He has a way of getting down to the nitty gritty, or Let's get down to cases. The origin of the first phrase, dating from the late 1800s, is disputed. Some believe it alludes to the brass tacks used under fine upholstery, others that it is Cockney rhyming slang for "hard facts," and still others that it alludes to tacks hammered into a sales counter to indicate precise measuring points. The noun bedrock has signified the hard rock underlying alluvial mineral deposits since about 1850 and has been used figuratively to denote "bottom" since the 1860s. The noun nitty-gritty dates from the mid-1900s and alludes to the detailed ("nitty") and possibly unpleasant ("gritty") issue in question. The noun cases apparently alludes to the game of faro, in which the "case card" is the last of a rank of cards remaining in play; this usage dates from about 1900. Also see to the point.
See also: brass, down, get, tack
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

get down to brass tacks

If people get down to brass tacks, they begin to discuss the basic, most important aspects of a situation. To get down to brass tacks, what I want to know is, do you know anything at all about her mother's side of the family? Note: The usual explanation for this expression is that in Cockney rhyming slang `brass tacks' are facts.
See also: brass, down, get, tack

the nitty-gritty

The nitty-gritty of something is its most basic and important features. Now down to the nitty-gritty. I've been fat since I was 14 and been on countless unsuccessful diets. It is easy to lose sight of your aims in the nitty-gritty of daily life. Note: Nitty-gritty is also used before nouns. Let us look at the nitty-gritty problems now.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

get (or come) down to brass tacks

start to consider the essential facts or practical details; reach the real matter in hand. informal
1932 T. S. Eliot Sweeney Agonistes That's all the facts when you come to brass tacks: Birth, and copulation, and death.
See also: brass, down, get, tack
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

get down to brass ˈtacks

(informal) begin to discuss and deal with the really important practical details: Let’s get down to brass tacks — how much will it all cost?
See also: brass, down, get, tack

get down to the nitty-ˈgritty

(informal) start discussing the basic, especially the practical aspects of a matter/decision: Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. Who’s going to pay for the renovations? We talked for an hour without really getting down to the nitty-gritty of the problem.
See also: down, get
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

get down to the nitty-gritty

in. to get down to the basic facts. (see also nitty-gritty.) If we could only get down to the nitty-gritty and stop wasting time.
See also: down, get

nitty-gritty

(ˈnɪdi ˈgrɪdi)
n. the essence; the essential points. (Usually in get down to the nitty-gritty.) Once we are down to the nitty-gritty, we can begin to sort things out.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

nitty-gritty, the

The heart of the matter, the fundamentals. According to lexicographer J. E. Lighter, this expression originated in black English and may be a rhyming elaboration of grit, but that has not been verified. It often is put as get down to the nitty-gritty. Nat Hentoff had it in Jazz Country (1965), “Now let’s get down to the nitty-gritty.” See also under get down to brass tacks.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • get down to brass tacks
  • gritty
  • down to brass tacks
  • within grasp
  • a (good/solid/sound/etc.) grasp of/on (something)
  • grasp
  • grasp of
  • have a (good/solid/sound/etc.) grasp of/on (something)
  • have a grasp of
  • hold by (something)
References in periodicals archive
So, to get to the nitty gritty of not only jazz culture but also its relation to the predicaments and possibilities of the hyphen in African-American, we must do more to find out when, why, and how seeming breakthroughs occur.
THE NITTY GRITTY: Like a horror-movie villain, papovaviruses lurk unseen.
Produced by Hollywood blockbusting producer Jerry Bruckheimer, the CSI cameras go into the nitty gritty of the crime and an autopsy on a horse was particularly gruesome and led to the best line of the night from Gil Grissom (William Peterson).
Pick up a Frendz Pak and uncover the nitty gritty of your oldest palz or break the ice with a brand-new bud.
WANNABE pop stars will be able to learn about the nitty gritty of making it in the music industry with a new six-week course Making it in Music
Think Tools has developed algorithms that underlie the technology, but the software is specifically aimed at board room level and not for "nitty gritty analysis" according to ADL manager Karin Bergmann.
The Nitty Gritty Roller Mop has several features, including a curved handle that puts more sponge on the floor.
It's a process that could no doubt be repeated in the Middle East, and the lesson of South Africa is that the nitty gritty details of implementation are just as important as the emotional moments of breakthrough.
'Ang tingin ko lang para sa akin po, it would be interesting to know the nitty gritty part.
Also, the expression 'The Nitty Gritty' arose in the US in the mid-20th century and it has been suggested that nitty refers to nits and gritty means the grit left at the bottom of a barrel.
"Now, back in England, is when the real nitty gritty in terms of the tactical side of it begins and players put down their markers now.
McGregor still has a year of his current deal to run but Lennon said: "I've mentioned to Darren in passing on one or two occasions about extending his deal but we've not got down to the nitty gritty.
"But the Redcar Town Centre Partnership told us they needed someone to help do the nitty gritty - washing the windows of empty properties, painting street furniture, that sort of thing.
I AM writing to make readers aware of a threat to our great British heritage if an application to register "Nitty Nora" as a trademark is not stopped.
Higgins said: "When it came down to the nitty gritty I was able to take my chances after he'd missed a couple of shots."