the ins and outs
The particular details and nuances of a situation, task, etc. I'm not surprised he made such a stupid mistake—he doesn’t know the ins and outs of this business.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
ins and outs (of something)
the correct and successful way to do something; the special things that one needs to know to do something. I don't understand the ins and outs of politics. Jane knows the ins and outs of repairing computers.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
ins and outs
1. The intricate details of a situation or process. For example, It takes a newcomer some time to learn the ins and outs of the legislative process, or David really knows the ins and outs of how this engine works. This usage alludes to the tortuous windings and turnings of a road or path. [Second half of 1600s]
2. Those with position and influence and those without, especially those in office versus those who are not, as in "Juan stood well both with Ins and Outs" (Byron, Don Juan, 1823). [Mid-1700s]
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.
the ins and outs
COMMON The ins and outs of a situation or subject are all the complicated details or facts about it. Lawyers will no doubt debate the legal ins and outs of this case. There are many helpful books that can advise on the ins and outs of dieting in great detail.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
the ins and outs
all the details of something.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
the ˌins and ˈouts (of something)
all the details of something, which are often difficult to understand: It would take me too long to explain all the ins and outs of the problem. ♢ I don’t know all the ins and outs of the case.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
the ins and outs
n. the fine points (of something); the details; the intricacies. I’m learning the ins and outs of this business.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
ins and outs, the
All the intricacies or ramifications of a situation. Originally this term referred to those in favor and those out of it, and then to those in or out of political office. As Chaucer put it in Troilus and Criseyde, “Weep if thou wolt, for out of doute, this Diomede is inne, and thou art oute.” Years later Thomas Jefferson (Writings, ca. 1814) similarly referred to “two parties, the ins and the outs.” Only in the nineteenth century did the term come to mean intricacies, referring to the windings and turnings of a complicated path or passage. Thomas Hood so used it in a late poem (“Laying Down the Law,” 1845): “The celebrated judge, too prone to tarry, to hesitate on devious ins and outs.”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer