Phrase guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
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prep_phrase
Precisely; exactly; perfectly; with great attention to detail.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: idiomatic
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adverb
in every detail
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Synonyms: to the letter, just right, to perfection
Antonyms: none provided
History
The origins of this phrase are uncertain, but it has been observed in print since at least 1693, and likely was around well before that. The possibly related phrase to a tittle is found in a 1607 play, The Woman Hater by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher ("I'll quote him to a tittle"). The T in the phrase to a T is likely the first letter of a word, with tittle being the most likely source. * Other theories with little evidence point to golf tees, for their small size; this may have at least influenced the alternative form to a tee. Some speculate a relationship with T-square, a measuring device introduced around the turn of the century. Others claim the expression refers to the correct completion of the letter t by crossing it. *In print from "Two Years Before the Mast" published in 1840, and, even then, using quotes, refers to the practice of squaring up a yardarm with a mast on a sailing ship such that it made a perpendicular T.
Across languages
17 source translations are retained for this English entry.
