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Glite Dictionary
blow-by-blow

blow-by-blow

5 7.4
A detailed step-by-step description of an event as it happens
  • adjective
  • /ˈbloʊˌbaɪˈbloʊ/
  • Literature
translation icon : detallado
  • I'd almost have to read the blow-by-blow transcript to know if I followed what he said there correctly.
  • a blow-by-blow account
  • a blow-by-blow description
  • a blow-by-blow analysis

But then the Senate torture report actually lays it all out, blow by blow by blow, what they did to him.

Examples

  • Pieced together, they give a blow-by-blow account of an extraordinary investigation.

    PFC Benjamin Tollefson: A Mom's Loss (2017)

  • Now, I could give you a blow-by-blow account of my reaction to this RRA's chop logic, but that would waste both my time and yours.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • What do you want, a blow-by-blow account of everything l do?

    House of Bamboo (1955)

  • Do the police give you a blow-by-blow account of their investigation?

    Blog text (4)

  • Through this site, we will be bringing you the blow-by-blow details of our progress and providing you with information on how to get involved.

    Blog text (5)

  • How dare he think he could tell her all this, give her a blow-by-blow account?

    Fiction book (1998)

  • On a live and very personal basis, Twitter allowed its users to get a blow-by-blow description of Sandy's progress and impact.

    Blog text (6)

  • This review is a blow-by-blow account of exactly what happened on stage with minimal subjective comment.

    Academic text (2009)

  • Alaze: "... focusing on the human side of the catastrophe, he (P. Read) gives a blow-by-blow account of the accident... complete with reconstructed dialogue."

    Blog text (22)

  • The journalist provided a detailed blow-by-blow account of the trial, covering every witness and argument.

Synonyms

step-by-step
vsblow-by-blow
23 2.8

Done in separate parts, each finished before the next

focuses on a detailed sequential account of events as they happen

Antonyms

overview
74 3.8

A short summary of the main points of something

abridged
1 4.2

Shortened text that keeps the main ideas and events

How Detailed

exhaustive
  • Formal
32 6.6
blow-by-blow
  • Literature
5 7.4
detailed
353 3.7
general
56 4.5
sketchy
33 7.0
vague
230 4.6

Surface Forms

blow-by-blow positive

Morphology

blow-by-blow = blow (semi-transparent) = by + blow

While the components are clear, the specific meaning of a detailed sequential account is metaphorical. [Postprocessing: moved 'by' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

Blow-by-blow comes from old sports reports, especially boxing, where a blow is a 'hit' and writers described the match blow by blow, one hit after another. So, a blow-by-blow description today means a very detailed account that tells each action in order.