Englishletter perfect
Meaning: Exactly right.
Example: “By opening night, her lines were letter perfect.”
Origin: Comes from the theater, where an actor who is letter perfect has the part exactly as written — every word in place, nothing approximated, nothing improvised to cover a gap. Behind it sits the older English phrase "to the letter," translating the Latin ad litteram and meaning compliance so exact that it follows the written characters themselves rather than the sense they convey. That exactness has always carried a faint ambivalence in English, because the same tradition supplies the warning that the letter kills while the spirit gives life. Letter perfect is unambiguous praise for a performer, who is supposed to deliver what was written; applied to anything requiring judgment it can shade into a criticism, describing someone who has the words right and nothing else.
More English idioms
- look like death warmed over To look/feel ill or exhausted.
- lose one's temper To become suddenly angry. To hold one's temper means to remain calm when irritated.
- low man on the totem pole The person of lowest rank.
- make a clean breast of it To admit and explain some wrongdoing; to confess something.
- make a long story short To summarize; to tell only the main points.
- make ends meet To manage financially; to have enough money for one's basic needs.
Explore another collection: Proverbs
Short sayings of timeless wisdom from more than 50 cultures, each with its meaning and origin.
- Non tutti i mali vengono per nuocere Something good can come out of a misfortune.
- Paese che vai, usanza che trovi Each place has its own customs, and visitors should respect them.
- Gallina vecchia fa buon brodo Older people have qualities, like experience, that the young lack.
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