get down to brass tacks

Etymology
. Earliest attestation in 1863 US, specifically Texas. One theory is that it comes from the brass tacks in the counter of a hardware store or draper’s shop used to measure cloth in precise units (rather than holding one end to the nose and stretching out the arm to approximately one yard). Another possibility is the 19th-century American practice of using brass tacks to spell out the initials of the deceased on the top of their coffin. Yet another theory is that the phrase arose from the practice of adorning one’s gunstock with brass tacks, as was common in the early American West. Brass was frequently used because it could be easily polished and didn’t rust. According to author Stanley Vestal, “Brass tacks hammered into the stock of the rifle marked the tally of the mountain man’s victims.”

Verb

 * 1)  to start to discuss or consider the most important details or facts about something.
 * 2) * 1863, January 21, 1863, The Tri-Weekly Telegraph, newspaper of Houston, Texas
 * When you come down to brass tacks – if we may be allowed the expression – everybody is governed by selfishness.
 * 1) * 1935, Clifford Odets, Waiting for Lefty
 * That's no answer. Get down to brass tacks.
 * 1) * 1972, Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream
 * Let's get down to brass tacks here. How much for the ape?
 * 1) * 1979, Stephen King, The Dead Zone
 * We're gonna stop playing games with these Arabs and get down to brass tacks!
 * We're gonna stop playing games with these Arabs and get down to brass tacks!

Synonyms

 * drill down
 * get down to bedrock
 * get down to business
 * get down to cases, get right down to cases
 * get down to the nitty-gritty
 * get down to nuts and bolts
 * cut to the chase
 * cut to the chase

Translations

 * Dutch: ter zake komen
 * Finnish: mennä asiaan, käydä asiaan
 * French: passer aux choses sérieuses
 * German:
 * Icelandic: koma sér að efninu, kjarni málsins, ,  skipta máli
 * Italian: darsi da fare, rimboccarsi le maniche, venire al sodo, darsi una mossa, entrare nei dettagli
 * Polish: przechodzić do rzeczy, przejść do rzeczy
 * Russian: переходить к сути дела
 * Spanish: ir al grano
 * Ukrainian: перейти до справи, перейти до суті