Synonyms

brass tacks

American

noun

Informal.

the most fundamental considerations; essentials; realities (usually used in the phraseget down to brass tacks ).

brass tacks British

plural noun

informal basic realities; hard facts (esp in the phrase get down to brass tacks )

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of brass tacks

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

After warm handshakes and a warning about Taiwan from Xi Jinping on Thursday, the Chinese president and Trump were due to get down to brass tacks on Friday with discussions on trade, geopolitics and AI.

From Barron's • May 15, 2026

“Investors are getting down to brass tacks and saying, ‘What do we want to own over the next few months?’”

From MarketWatch • Mar. 2, 2026

His plays demonstrate a fierce effort to get down to brass tacks.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2025

But when it came to brass tacks, to financial compensation, they were not.

From BBC • Dec. 18, 2024

“When it comes down to brass tacks, you don’t give a damn about them. Or _ _ r> me. “

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023