Re: Suits
to a T
Posted by ESC on March 08, 2002 In Reply to: Suits to a T posted by Cathie on March
08, 2002 : Does anyone know that origin of this phrase? TO
A T - "We use this expression very commonly in the sense of minute exactness,
perfection; as, the coat fits to a T; the meat was done to a T. It is easy to
dismiss the origin of the expression as, I am sorry to say, some of our leading
dictionaries do, by attributing it to the draftsman's T-square, which is supposed
to be an exact instrument, but the evidence indicates that the expression was
in common English use before the T-square got its name. 'To a T' dates back to
the seventeenth century in literary use and was undoubtedly common in everyday
speech long before any writer dared to or thought to use it in print. But it is
likely that the name of the instrument, 'T-square,' would have been in print shortly
after its invention, yet the first mention is in the eighteenth century. The sense
of the expression corresponds, however, with the older one, 'to a tittle,' which
appeared almost a century earlier, and meant 'to a dot,' as in 'jot or tittle.'
Beaumont used it in 1607, and it is probably that colloquial use long preceded
his employment of the phrase." From "2107 Curious Word Origins, Sayings & Expressions
from White Elephants to a Song and Dance" by Charles Earle Funk (Galahad Books,
New York, 1993).
- Re: Suits to a T James Briggs
03/08/02 ( 1)
See also - The meaning and origin of 'to a T.
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