Everyday Office Jargon · Managing Director level

"Get down to brass tacks"

"Get down to brass tacks" means to stop the preliminary discussion and focus on the specific, practical details that actually matter.

Say this instead: focus on the basics

How "Get down to brass tacks" shows up at work

Usually invoked by the most senior person in the room after too much framing has happened. A reliable signal that the meeting is about to become useful, or that someone has lost patience, depending on the tone.

Buzzword

Alright, let's get down to brass tacks and talk about the numbers.

Plain English

Alright, let's stop talking around it and look at the actual numbers.

Corporate Rank: Managing Director · Category: Everyday Office Jargon

Stop sounding like the buzzword.

Buzzkill highlights "Get down to brass tacks" and 634 other buzzwords in Gmail and LinkedIn, and rewrites them to plain English in one click. Free to try, 100% local.

Add to Chrome, free

More Everyday Office Jargon: 30,000 ft. View · 800-pound gorilla · A day late and a dollar short · A lot on my plate · Above my pay grade · Ace in the hole

All Everyday Office Jargon · The full library · What's your Corporate Rank?