例句-1:All right, I've heard what you all think. Now let's get down to the real nitty-gritty: what do voters back home think about the bill and what will it mean for my election campaign?
例句-2:All right, enough talk! Let's get down to the nitty-gritty. I want you to tell me whether you want to sell your company and how much money it'll cost me to buy it.
显然这位先生对旁敲侧击的空话已经很不耐烦;他希望开门见山地谈要害问题,所以这里的get down to the nitty-gritty意思就是言归正传。
还有个习惯用语和nitty-gritty意思很接近。它是:nuts and bolts。Nuts在这儿指螺帽,而bolts是螺栓。我们知道nuts and bolts虽然微不足道,但是却不可缺少,因为庞大的机器或者高楼大厦全靠着nuts and bolts才维系成为整体。
大约在四十年前人们开始把nuts and bolts作为习惯用语。这个习惯用语至今仍然流行,当然习惯用语nuts and bolts不再指螺帽、螺钉了。它的比喻意义究竟是什么?我们听个例子来琢磨。
这是一家大公司的总裁正要带儿子出道参与自己的事业。他很可以为宝贝儿子安排个坐办公桌的闲差,但是他觉得那是错误的做法。我们来听听他的打算,请特别注意里面用到的nuts and bolts.
例句-3:Son, some day the company will be yours. So I want you to start as an ordinary worker in the factory to learn the nuts and bolts -- you'll know the business a whole lot better.
这位明智的父亲不让儿子高高在上地坐办公室,却要儿子去底层工厂当一名普通职工,因为这样能学到公司业务中最基本的东西。可见nuts and bolts 指的是基本的却也是重要的组成部分。
我们再听个例子。它也用习惯用语nuts and bolts。这是个老师在写作课上谈短篇小说的创作方法。
例句-4:We'll get to things like plot and character later. First we'll study the nuts and bolts of writing: how to write a good English sentence and how to organize your ideas first.