Example
“Legal spent a week dotting the i's and crossing the t's on the contract.”
Dictionary details
Related idioms
Expressions connected by reviewed component words or topic tags.
by the book
CEFR B2strictly following the rules or official procedures
cover all bases
CEFR B2to consider and prepare for every important part, possibility, or problem so nothing is missed
cut corners
CEFR B2To do something cheaply or quickly by skipping important steps, often lowering quality.
leave no stone unturned
CEFR B2to try every possible way to achieve or find something
small print
CEFR B2important detailed conditions that are easy to overlook in an agreement or advertisement
the cream of the crop
CEFR B2The very best people or things in a group.
Source methodology
Meanings, register, CEFR, and examples come from the reviewed dictionary record. Expression notes may describe a reviewed present-day word picture or a background note; they are not presented as verified etymology.