This week’s theme
Words coined after metals

This week’s words
golden calf
silver spoon
tinhorn
brass tacks
ironclad

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(bras taks)

MEANING:

noun: Practical details; essentials; realities.

ETYMOLOGY:

The term is typically used in the phrase “to get down to brass tacks”. There are many conjectures about the origins of the term, but it’s not confirmed why we say brass tacks, instead of, say iron tacks, or for that matter iron nails. Earliest documented use: 1863.

USAGE:

“It is one thing to enthuse, but can be quite another to get down to brass tacks.”
Barry Davis; The Flow of Love; Jerusalem Post (Israel); Feb 8, 2019.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: