get down to the nitty gritty

Register · Informal Informal — used in casual, everyday conversation among friends and family. Avoid in formal writing or professional settings. CEFR C1

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Figurative meaning

to deal with the most important or practical details of something

Why this phrase?

'Nitty-gritty' means the essential details; the phrase means to focus on them.

Example

“Enough small talk — let's get down to the nitty-gritty.”

Dictionary details

Tags

Expressions connected by reviewed component words or topic tags.

the name of the game Informal · CEFR B1

the central, most important aspect of a situation

go down a rabbit hole Informal · CEFR B2

to get lost in a long, winding, often pointless digression while researching or building something

have bigger fish to fry Informal · CEFR B2

To have more important matters to deal with.

in one's sights Neutral · CEFR B2

chosen as a target or goal that you intend to achieve or pursue

small print Neutral · CEFR B2

important detailed conditions that are easy to overlook in an agreement or advertisement

the devil is in the details Neutral · CEFR B2

the hidden difficulties of a plan are in its small details

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.

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