1. Home
2. Idioms
3. nuts and bolts

nuts and bolts

---

---

nuts and bolts

 

1. Fig. the mundane workings of something; the basics of something. (See also get down to the nuts and bolts.) I want you to learn how to write well. You have to know the nuts and bolts of writing. She's got a lot of good, general ideas, but when it comes to the nuts and bolts of getting something done, she's no good.

2. Sl. the subject of psychology in college. I took a class in nuts and bolts and didn't learn anything at all about what makes me tick. Tom is flunking nuts and bolts because he won't participate in the required "experiments."

See also: and, bolt, nuts

nuts and bolts

1. n. the mundane workings of something; the basics of something. She’s got a lot of good, general ideas, but when it comes to the nuts and bolts of getting something done, she’s no good.

2. n. the subject of psychology in college. Tom is flunking nuts and bolts because he won’t participate in the required “experiments.”

See also: and, bolt, nuts