| 释义 |
meat and drink to me, it is meat and potatoesThe fundamental part or parts of something, as in This paragraph is the meat and potatoes of the contract. This metaphoric term transfers what some regard as basic fare to the basics of an issue. [Mid-1900s] See also: and, meat, potatomeat and potatoes INFORMALThe meat and potatoes of something are the most important and basic things about it or parts of it. American workwear is the meat and potatoes of off-duty clothing. The real meat and potatoes of any auto show is in the cars and trucks people can buy now.See also: and, meat, potatomeat and potatoes ordinary but fundamental things; basic ingredients. 1993 New York Times Mainstream rock acts like Van Halen and Bruce Springsteen are the meat and potatoes of A.O.R. See also: and, meat, potato meat and potatoes Informal The fundamental parts or part; the basis.See also: and, meat, potatomeat and drink to me, it isA source of great pleasure. This term appears in Shakespeare’s As You Like It (5.1), in which Touchstone declares, “It is meat and drink to me to see a clown,” but it appears in earlier sources as well. The phrase was hyperbole from the very start, since meat (meaning food) and drink are clearly essential to life. More straightforward is the much newer meat and potatoes, used from the mid-twentieth century on to signify the basics of an issue (transferring the idea that meat and potatoes are the basics of the human diet).See also: and, drink, meat |