jot and tittle
- idiom
- Informal
:
cada detalle
- He insisted on reviewing every jot and tittle of the contract before signing it.
Examples
-
The one who really doesn't know has to repeat every jot and tittle, lest something important be inadvertently omitted.
Academic text (1995) -
The researcher paid attention to every jot and tittle in the ancient manuscript to ensure accuracy.
-
At least, I am the GOP "demographic" down to the last jot and tittle.
Blog text (2) -
I rather commonly write about such things, and I'm surrounded by online acquaintances who take a burning interest in every little jot and tittle of this ongoing saga.
Blog text (26) -
"On the other hand, I am a white, male, well-off, heterosexually married, college-educated fellow, which means, according to these exit polls at least, I am the GOP demographic down to the last jot and tittle."
Blog text (2) -
On the other hand, I am a white, male, well-off, heterosexually married, college-educated fellow, which means according to these exit polls at least, I am the GOP "demographic" down to the last jot and tittle.
Blog text (2) -
When preparing her report, she checked each jot and tittle to make sure no details were overlooked.
Synonyms
5
9.3
A very small detail that is not important
Antonyms
How Detailed
Surface Forms
Morphology
Both 'jot' and 'tittle' individually denote very small marks or amounts, and their coordination ('X and Y') naturally signals attention to the smallest particulars. Although the idiom is somewhat archaic and low-frequency, its overall meaning 'every tiny detail' is directly inferable from the constituent meanings, so a learner who knows the parts can understand it.
Etymology
Jot and tittle comes from old handwriting: a jot was the smallest letter shape and a tittle was the tiny dot or mark on a letter. One popular story says people watched those tiny marks to be exact, so the phrase now means 'every small detail'.