wrote the book on

Idioms  

1. Knows nearly everything about, as in Ask Dr. Lock; he wrote the book on pediatric cardiology, or I wrote the book on job-hunting; I've been looking for two years. This expression is always put in the past tense. [Colloquial; second half of 1900s]

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Example Sentences

Which led me to seek out William Silber, who literally wrote the book on the subject, The Story of Silver: How the White Metal Shaped America and the Modern World.

From Barron's • Feb. 7, 2026

Sam Donaldson, the ABC reporter who practically wrote the book on covering presidents, feels much the same way.

From Salon • Apr. 26, 2025

"He literally wrote the book on the art of deal making."

From BBC • Jan. 17, 2025

This pathbreaking trombonist, composer and scholar literally wrote the book on the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, the organization that provided schooling to Ewart in the 1960s, after he immigrated from Jamaica.

From New York Times • Mar. 20, 2023

“I wrote the book on right. Silent Somersault?”

From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray