back to basics

back to basics

Returning to the fundamental aspects of something. Since you're struggling to play chords, let's get back to basics and look at the notes on the scale. Considering that the entire class did poorly on that Biology test, I guess we're going to have to go back to basics on Monday. The forwards are trying to do too much out there, that's why they're not scoring. We need to get back to basics in practice.

See also: back, basic, to

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

back to basics

return to basic instruction; start the learning process over again. Class, you seem to have forgotten the simplest of facts, so it's back to basics for the first week of classes.

See also: back, basic, to

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

back to basics

Back to fundamental principles, as in The plans are much too elaborate; to stay in our budget we have to get back to basics. At first this term was used mainly for schooling that stresses proficiency in reading, writing, and mathematics (also see three R's), but it quickly was transferred to other areas. [1970s]

See also: back, basic, to

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

back to basics

abandoning complication and sophistication to concentrate on the most essential aspects of something.

Back to basics is often used to suggest the moral superiority of the plain and simple, as in a speech made in 1993 by the British Conservative leader John Major , who spearheaded the government's campaign for the regeneration of basic family and educational values in the 1990s.

See also: back, basic, to

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