to the letter
Meaning: Exactly and precisely, following every detail.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “She followed the recipe to the letter.”
Category: Daily Life
Origin: Following the letters of a text exactly; the Latin ad litteram has the same sense. The phrase is found in English from the 16th century.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: Au pied de la lettre — literally: At the foot of the letter
More idioms — Daily Life
- get the boot — To be dismissed from a job or thrown out.
- don't wash your dirty linen in public — Keep private problems and quarrels private.
- not the sharpest tool in the shed — Not very intelligent.
- since time immemorial — For longer than anyone can remember.
- much ado about nothing — A lot of fuss about something unimportant.
- have one's work cut out — To face a difficult task.
More English idioms
- can't see the forest for the trees — Too focused on details to understand the whole situation.
- the honeymoon period — The early, happy stage of a new relationship or arrangement, before problems appear.
- for donkey's years — For a very long time.
- cry one's eyes out — To cry very hard and for a long time.
- make sheep's eyes at — To look at someone in a lovesick, foolish way (dated).
- you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar — Kindness persuades people better than harshness.
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