boil down to, to
boil down to something
1. and boil down Lit. [for a liquid] to be condensed to something by boiling. Boil this mixture down to about half of what it was.
2. Fig. [for a complex situation] to be reduced to its essentials. It boils down to the question of who is going to win. It boils down to a very minor matter.
See also: boil, down
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
boil down to, to
To simplify or abridge; to lead to the crux of the matter. This figure of speech transfers the sense of a liquid being reduced and concentrated by the process of boiling to other processes or endeavors. It dates from the late nineteenth century.
See also: boil, down
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- boil
- boil (something) out of (something)
- boil out of
- be down to something
- be down to (do something)
- boil off
- boil over
- be down to (one)
- be down to somebody/something
- bounce up and down