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down to a fine art

Learned, mastered, or understood perfectly, to the point of requiring little or no focus to do, recall, or accomplish. Make sure you practice these equations until you have them down to a fine art. I always get my routine down to a fine art so there won't be any room for error during the performance.

See also: art, down, fine

art is long and life is short

A phrase that emphasizes the permanence of art and the fleeting nature of human life. As I've gotten older, I've been painting more because I know that art is long and life is short.

See also: and, art, life, long, short

Art is long and life is short.

Prov. Works of art last much longer than human lives.; Life is too short to learn everything you need to know about a particular discipline. Alan: You ought to do something besides paint pictures in your spare time. Come out with us, have some fun. Bob: Having fun will not win me immortality. Only my paintings can do that. Art is long and life is short. I always feel a sense of awe when I look at the Babylonian statues in the art museum. They were made thousands of years ago. Art is long and life is short.

See also: and, art, life, long, short

state of the art

using the most recent technology. (Hyphenated before nouns.) Our company's computer setup is strictly state of the art. This state-of-the-art radio is capable of filling the whole room with sound.

See also: art, of, state

work of art

 

1. Lit. a piece of art. She purchased a lovely work of art for her living room.

2. . Fig. a good result of one's efforts. Your report was a real work of art. Very well done.

See also: art, of, work

to a fine art

in a way that is based on highly developed skill This restaurant elevates the sandwich to a fine art.

See also: art, fine

have something down to a fine art

  (British, American & Australian) also have something off to a fine art (British & Australian)

to be able to do something very well, usually because you have been doing it for a long time He's got sandwich making down to a fine art.

See also: art, down, fine, have

state-of-the-art

state-of-the-art equipment and machines are the most modern and of the best quality available State-of-the-art computer graphics show how your kitchen could be transformed.

fine art

Something requiring highly developed techniques and skills, as in He's turned lying into a fine art, or The contractor excels in the fine art of demolition. This term alludes to the fine arts, such as music, painting, and sculpture, which require both skill and talent. It is now often used to describe anything that takes skill to do. [First half of 1800s]

See also: art, fine

state of the art

The highest level of development, very up-to-date, as in This new television set reflects the state of the art in screen technology. Despite including the word art, this term originated in technology, and its first recorded use appears in a 1910 book on the gas turbine. Today it is often used adjectivally, as in This is a state-of-the-art camera, and sometimes very loosely, as in That movie is state-of-the-art Woody Allen.

See also: art, of, state