warp and woof

Cultural  

1. The essential foundation or base of any structure or organization; from weaving, in which the warp — the threads that run lengthwise — and the woof — the threads that run across — make up the fabric: “The Constitution and the Declaration of Independence are the warp and woof of the American nation.”

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warp and woof Idioms  

1. The underlying structure or foundation of something, as in He foresaw great changes in the warp and woof of the nation's economy. This expression, used figuratively since the second half of the 1500s, alludes to the threads that run lengthwise (warp) and crosswise (woof) in a woven fabric.

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Example Sentences

Language is the warp and woof of our social fabric.

From The Guardian • Aug. 10, 2019

Amusingly and effectively, for a vocalist who’s never needed much help with her pitch, many of her bars even use a smattering of Auto-Tune to import a more contemporary warp and woof.

From Slate • Jun. 18, 2018

All that was needed was the warp and woof of speaker dresses, rather than the big loudspeakers on stage, which suddenly seemed so 20th century.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 18, 2018

Perhaps most powerfully, though, women’s absence as storytellers severely limits the narrative warp and woof of the movies themselves, and we need only travel to the local multiplex to see the evidence.

From Washington Post • Feb. 9, 2017

The Lawrence family was pious in the manner of northern Midwestern Lutherans, religion serving as much as the warp and woof of the community fabric as a source of personal succor or theological speculation.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik