get a fix on

1. Also, have a fix on;;. Obtain (or have) a clear determination or understanding of something. For example, I was finally able to get a fix on the specifics of this problem, or No one in the press room had a handle on Balkan history, or Do you have a grasp of the situation? Similarly, give a fix means “provide a clear understanding,” as in This briefing will give us a fix on the current situation. The usages with fix and handle are colloquialisms dating from the 1920s; those with grasp are more formal and date from the late 1600s.

Example Sentences

Dad once told me to look at the horizon to keep from getting seasick, but it was impossible to get a fix on it while holed up in the cabin of a harpoon boat that had windows the size of Kleenex boxes.

From Literature

She may have a chance against the front-runner, though polling is scant and turnout in a primary for an off-year special election is expected to be low, making it even more difficult to get a fix on the race.

From Washington Post

As mentioned above, patterns of denial and obfuscation common to Christian nationalists make it difficult to get a fix on Doug Mastriano's actual commitments and involvements.

From Salon

Under the first scenario, a mission could continue the work of ESA’s Gaia telescope, mapping the precise positions of billions of stars to understand the evolution of our Milky Way Galaxy—but shifting attention to near-infrared light, to gain additional stellar information and get a fix on stars obscured by clouds when viewed in visible light.

From Science Magazine

With this year’s awards season scrambled by the COVID-19 pandemic, Oscar prognosticators are still trying to get a fix on which way the winds are blowing — and the sometimes befuddling Golden Globes nominations, announced Wednesday, weren’t much help.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• diagnose 
• identify 
• recognize