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at the dot

Right on time. Exactly at the appointed time. Similar to the phrase "on the dot." I'll be on time, I swear! I'll be there at 9 o'clock at the dot!

See also: dot

be off (one's) dot

To be crazy or mentally unsound; to be extremely foolish or foolhardy. I'm going to go off my dot if I have to hear that blasted song once more! I think Jane's grandmother is a little off her dot these days. You must be off your dot if you think that's a good idea!

connect the dots

1. Literally, to draw a line between dots, often as part of a children's activity to create an illustration or design. The kids are having fun connecting the dots and making pretty pictures for us.

2. To understand something by piecing together hints or other bits of information. Once I started to connect the dots, I realized that, if they hadn't called me by now, I probably wasn't getting the job.

cross (one's) t's and dot (one's) i's

To do something carefully and make sure that every last minor detail is completed. Make sure the legal team crosses their t's and dots their i's when drawing up the contract. I made sure to cross my t's and dot my i's when installing the circuit breaker—you can never be too careful with electrical work.

See also: and, cross, dot

dot (one's) i's

To do something carefully and make sure that every last minor detail is completed. Please make sure to dot your i's when signing this contract. I made sure to dot my i's when installing the circuit breaker—you can never be too careful with electrical work.

See also: dot

dot (one's) i's and cross (one's) t's

To do something carefully and make sure that every last minor detail is completed. Please make sure to dot your i's and cross your t's when signing this contract. I made sure to dot my i's and cross my t's when installing the circuit breaker—you can never be too careful with electrical work.

See also: and, cross, dot

Dot or feather?

offensive slang Used to clarify whether a person said to be Indian is from India or is a Native American. The question refers to a bindi, a colored dot traditionally worn on the forehead in the Indian subcontinent, and the feathers worn on traditional Native American war bonnets. A: "I heard Sarah's new roommate is Indian." B: "Oh, really? Dot or feather?" A: "Janet! Be a little more respectful than that."

See also: dot

dot the i's and cross the t's

To do something carefully and make sure that every last minor detail is completed. Please make sure to dot the i's and cross the t's when signing this contract. I made sure to dot the i's and cross the t's when installing the circuit breaker—you can never be too careful with electrical work.

See also: and, cross, dot

from the year dot

From an unspecified date in time that occurred long ago. My grandmother always says that she's loved cooking from the year dot, but my grandfather is quick to point out that she hated cooking when they first met.

See also: dot, year

go off (one's) dot

To become crazy or mentally unsound; to become extremely foolish or foolhardy. I'm going to go off my dot if I have to hear that blasted song once more! I think Jane's grandmother has gone off her dot lately. You must have gone off your dot if you think that's a good idea!

join (up) the dots

1. Literally, to draw a line between dots, often as part of a children's activity to create an illustration or design. The kids are having fun joining the dots and making pretty pictures for us.

2. To understand something by piecing together clues or other bits of information. Once I started joining the dots, I realized that the "agent" who took my money to find work for me had totally ripped me off. When I saw the articles about the stolen semi truck and the escaped convict, it didn't take long to join up the dots.

3. To put two or more people, groups, or things together in communication, association, or cooperation. Usually followed by "between (something) and (something else)." The mission of this program is to join the dots between our spirituality and our focus on real-world issues. Our group aims to join up the dots between local, state, and federal government agencies to provide comprehensive assistance to all our citizens.

off (one's) dot

Crazy or mentally unsound; extremely foolish. I'm going to go off my dot if I have to hear that blasted song once more! I think Jane's grandmother is a little off her dot these days. You must be off your dot if you think that's a good idea!

on the dot

At the exact time specified. True to his word, the detective arrived at 1:38 PM on the dot. If we don't leave the house at 6 o'clock on the dot, we'll miss our flight.

See also: dot, on

sign on the dotted line

To give one's formal agreement or assent by signing a legally binding contract document. We've approved you for a $10,000 loan. You just need to sign on the dotted line, and we'll transfer the funds to your account. Be sure to read all the fine print before you sign on the dotted line.

See also: dot, line, on, sign

since the year dot

Since an unspecified date in time that occurred long ago. They've been holding that festival since the year dot—I'm not sure anyone really knows how old it is. My grandmother always says that she's loved cooking since the year dot, but my grandfather is quick to point out that she hated cooking when they first met.

the dotted line

The line on which one must write one's signature, usually in order to agree to or purchase something. Once you sign on the dotted line, you'll be the owner of a brand-new car!

the year dot

The beginning of time; an extremely long time ago; the distant past. Our family line has presided over this land from the year dot. Giant sea turtles have been coming to this part of the island to mate since the year dot.

See also: dot, year

year dot

An unspecified date in time that occurred long ago, usually used in the phrases "since year dot" and "from year dot." My grandmother always says that she's loved cooking since year dot, but my grandfather is quick to point out that she hated cooking when they first met.

See also: dot, year

*on the dot

Fig. at exactly the right time. (*Typically: be somewhere ~; arrive (somewhere) ~; get somewhere ~; see someone ~; show up ~.) I'll be there at noon on the dot. I expect to see you here at eight o'clock on the dot.

See also: dot, on

sign on the dotted line

1. Lit. to indicate one's agreement or assent by placing one's signature on a special line provided for that purpose. (The line may be solid or dotted.) I agreed to the contract, but I haven't signed on the dotted line yet. When you have signed on the dotted line, please give me a call.

2. Fig. to indicate one's agreement to something. Okay. I agree to your terms. I'll sign on the dotted line. He is thinking favorably about going with us to Canada, but he hasn't signed on the bottom line.

See also: dot, line, on, sign

dot the i's and cross the t's

Be meticulous and precise, fill in all the particulars, as in Laura had dotted all the i's and crossed the t's, so she wondered what she'd done wrong . This expression presumably began as an admonition to schoolchildren to write carefully and is sometimes shortened. William Makepeace Thackeray had it in a magazine article ( Scribner's Magazine, 1849): "I have . . . dotted the i's." [Mid-1800s]

See also: and, cross, dot

on the dot

Exactly on time, as in We had to be there at eight on the dot. The dot in this idiom is the mark appearing on the face of a watch or clock indicating the time in question. It may come from the earlier to a dot, meaning "exactly" since the early 1700s but no longer heard today. [c. 1900] Also see on the button.

See also: dot, on

sign on the dotted line

Agree formally or fully, as in The deal is just about fixed; all they have to do is sign on the dotted line. This idiom refers to the broken line traditionally appearing at the bottom of a legal document, indicating the place for one's signature. [Early 1900s]

See also: dot, line, on, sign

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.

on the dot

If you do something on the dot, you do it at exactly the time that has been mentioned or arranged. At nine o'clock on the dot, they have breakfast. I sat on the front steps to wait for her, figuring that if she was anything like her father, she'd arrive on the dot of ten. Note: The minutes on a clock face are often marked by dots.

See also: dot, on

dot the i's and cross the t's

If you dot the i's and cross the t's, you make sure that all the details of something are correct. The two sides are close to a basic agreement. Dotting all the i's and crossing all the t's may take some time, however. Unless all the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed, a contract is not likely to be enforced. Note: In old-fashioned styles of handwriting, you write a word with one movement of your pen, and then go back and add the dot to any i's and the cross-strokes to any t's.

See also: and, cross, dot

sign on the dotted line

COMMON If you sign on the dotted line, you formally agree to something by signing an official document. Once you sign on the dotted line you are committed to that property. Note: You can also say that someone signs on the line. He signed on the line and can only blame himself. Note: You can also talk about someone's name on the dotted line or signature on the dotted line. He went to see Malcolm's widow, Betty, too; he needed her name on the dotted line.

See also: dot, line, on, sign

since the year dot

from the year dot

BRITISH

If you say that something has been the way it is since the year dot or from the year dot, you mean it has been like that for a very long time. Most of these folks have been here since the year dot. That's the way contracts have been done from the year dot.

dot the i's and cross the t's

ensure that all details are correct. informal

See also: and, cross, dot

on the dot

exactly on time. informal

The dot referred to is that appearing on a clock face to mark the hour.

1998 Oldie The Conditions of Sale state that the buyer has to pay the auctioneer on the dot.

See also: dot, on

the year dot

a very long time ago. British informal

1998 Spectator From the year dot there has been an uneasy relationship between press and police.

See also: dot, year

join up the dots

add the missing links in a line of reasoning (and reach the inevitable conclusion).

The expression is based on the idea of an outline drawing made by tracing a line through a series of dots.

2003 Scotland on Sunday The Mercury Music Prize…really helped us to be taken seriously. I think a lot of people knew the songs but didn't necessarily know they were by us so it also helped to join up the dots for them.

sign on the dotted line

agree formally.

1921 P. G. Wodehouse Indiscretions of Archie I spoke to him as one old friend to another…and he sang a few bars from ‘Rigoletto’, and signed on the dotted line.

See also: dot, line, on, sign

connect the ˈdots

(British English also join (up) the ˈdots) find or show the relationships between different things: It’s not hard to connect the dots between crime and poverty. ▶ connect-the-ˈdots adj.: a connect-the-dots article

dot the/your ˌi’s and cross the/your ˈt’s

pay great attention to small details in order to complete something; be very thorough and careful in what you do or say: We reached a broad agreement, and decided to dot the i’s and cross the t’s later.

See also: and, cross, dot

on the ˈdot

(informal) at exactly the right time or at the exact time mentioned: He always finishes work at 4.30 on the dot. ♢ She arrived on the dot of 6.00.

See also: dot, on

sign on the dotted ˈline

(informal) sign your name at the bottom of a contract and so agree to a deal, etc: The job isn’t mine until I’ve signed on the dotted line.

See also: dot, line, on, sign

from, since, etc. the year ˈdot

(American English from, since, etc. the year ˈone) (informal) from, etc. a very long time ago: The case contained old papers going back to the year dot.

See also: dot, year

connect the dots

1. To draw connecting lines between a seemingly random arrangement of numbered dots so as to produce a picture or design.

2. To draw logical inferences connecting items of information to reveal something previously hidden or unknown.

dot (one's) i's

To be thorough or painstaking in attending to details.

See also: dot

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

dot the i's and cross the t's, to

To be precise and meticulous. The source of this expression, it is alleged, is the possibility of confusing these letters if they are carelessly penned, and presumably it began as an admonition to schoolchildren and/or scribes. It was soon transferred to other affairs, and has been a cliché since the late nineteenth century.

See also: and, cross, dot

on the dot

Exactly on time. The dot in question is the minute indication on the face of a clock or watch. The term has been around since about 1900. Rex Stout used it often to describe his compulsively punctual detective, Nero Wolfe, as in Champagne for One (1958): “At six, on the dot as always, Wolfe entered.”

See also: dot, on

sign on the dotted line, to

To indicate one’s full acceptance of terms being offered. The dotted line in question is often used on official documents to indicate the place for one’s signature. The term dates from the early 1900s. P. G. Wodehouse used it in Indiscretions of Archie, (1921): “He sang a few bars from ‘Rigoletto,’ and signed on the dotted line.”