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Synonyms

sum and substance

American  

noun

  1. main idea, gist, or point.

    the sum and substance of an argument.
sum and substance Idioms  

  1. The essence or gist of something, as in The sum and substance of their platform is financial conservatism. This redundant expression—both sum and substance here mean “essence”—has probably survived owing to alliteration. Shakespeare used it in The Two Gentlemen of Verona (4:1): “My riches are these poor habiliments [clothes], Of which if you should here disfurnish me, You take the sum and substance that I have.”

Etymology

Origin of sum and substance

First recorded in 1585–95

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.

But for Muslims, it was Tuesday’s rite of praying at Arafat that represented the sum and substance of the Hajj.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 27, 2023

"The tax is in sum and substance one quarter of one percent, it's nothing," Steck said in a phone interview.

From Salon • Feb. 9, 2021

Eons ago, these were the sum and substance of man’s prescription for pain relief.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 27, 2016

But it isn’t the sum and substance of the Unabridged revision.

From Slate • Jan. 12, 2015

That is the sum and substance of the matter.

From A Grammar of Freethought by Cohen, Chapman

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.