etch
(redirected from etcher)Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
etched in stone
Permanently fixed or firmly established; not subject to any amendment or alteration. Often used in the negative. The deal isn't yet etched in stone, but we're confident it will go ahead as hoped.
etch (something) in(to) (something)
To cut something, such as a design or message, into some material or surface. Here, use this to try to etch your name into the glass.
See also: etch
be etched on (one's) heart
Said of something that one will always remember. The day you were born is just etched on my heart—I could never forget what it felt like to hold you for the first time.
be etched on (one's) memory
Said of something that one will always remember. The day you were born is just etched on my memory—I could never forget what it felt like to hold you for the first time.
be etched on (one's) mind
Said of something that one will always remember. The day you were born is just etched on my mind—I could never forget what it felt like to hold you for the first time.
cast in stone
Permanently fixed or firmly established; not subject to any amendment or alteration. Often used in the negative. The deal isn't yet cast in stone, but we're confident it will go ahead as hoped.
etch something in(to) something
and etch something into erode a design or message into something, usually with acid. They etched their family crest into their good crystal. He etched in his initials.
See also: etch
cast in stone
Also, etched in stone. Definite, fixed, as in We may choose to stay longer-our plans aren't cast in stone, or When Carl sets an agenda you can safely assume it's etched in stone. Both expressions allude to sculpture, with the first, from the early 1500s, using the verb cast in the sense of pouring and hardening some material into a final form, and the second cutting or corroding a permanent design.