ins and outs

plural noun

1. physical characteristics, as windings and turnings, nooks, or recesses:

   the ins and outs of a subterranean passage.

2. intricacies; particulars; peculiarities:

   the ins and outs of the tax laws.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ins and outs¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

You remember our description of the Cathedral of Saint Basil, with its wondrous towers and domes, and its various ins-and-outs?

From Project Gutenberg

They correspond to the 'ins-and-outs' of our English workhouses.

From Project Gutenberg

These little "ins-and-outs" were getting no schooling and no training save the training that fitted them for pauperism.

From Project Gutenberg

I can't explain the whole ins-and-outs of the business to you.

From Project Gutenberg