Let's get down to brass tacks. Fine.

咱开门见山吧。好。

In other words, someone got down to the brass tacks.

也就是说，有人get down to brass tacks(言归正传)。

And the storekeeper cut off as much as a woman wanted. Brass tacks along his work table helped him measure the exact amount.

店主剪下妇女们想要的长度。桌子上的铜钉帮助店主测量精确的长度。

They feel there is some risk in trying to get down to brass tacks.

他们觉得言归正传会冒险。

He could get an exact measure only by laying the material down along the brass tacks.

沿着桌子上的一排铜钉才能精确地测量长度。

The writer finally heard the critic's opinion. And this " getting down to brass tacks" ended a long friendship.

这位作者最后听到了批评家的意见。这种“言归正传”就结束了这段漫长的友谊。

When they have removed all the dirt, they are down to the brass tacks, the copper pieces that hold the boat together.

清理完所有污垢后，他们就碰到黄铜钉，这种铜零件能把船连接在一起。

The material was kept in large rolls. And the storekeeper cut off as much as a woman wanted. Brass tacks along his work table helped him measure the exact amount.

这些布料都被卷成大卷存放，店主根据顾客需要来裁剪布料。沿着他工作台面上的一排铜钉被用来测量具体的长度。

Or a woman may ask, " You say you love me. Will you marry me? " She, too, is getting down to brass tacks.

或者一名女子问，“你说你爱我，那你会跟我结婚吗？”她也是在言归正传。

There are others, however, who have no such desire. They feel there is some risk in trying to get down to brass tacks.

当然也有一些不喜欢打破砂锅问到底的人，他们认为直言不讳有风险。

The seaman had to clean the ship down to the copper bolts. American speech soon changed the words copper bolts into brass tacks.

水手得一直清理到铜钉的位置，美国语言里随后把copper bolts改为brass tacks。

Then he came down to brass tacks.

然后他归结为黄铜钉。

She, too, is getting down to brass tacks.

她也开始着手处理黄铜钉。

For example, a man may say, " I want to work for you. But how much will you pay me? " He is getting down to brass tacks.

例如，一个人若这样说：“我想为你工作，不过你能付我多少薪水”？他直接切入要点问了关键的问题。

They watched this tableau then got down to brass tacks.

他们观看着这场面而后讨论实质问题。

Then we got down to brass tacks and he resumed his brusque, rather insolent manner.

然后我们开始谈正事， 他又恢复了粗鲁、相当傲慢的态度。

The brass tacks showed that the chair was built to be strong. When something went wrong with the chair, someone quickly examined the bottom to discover the trouble.

椅子的底部有钢钉，说明椅子很坚固。当椅子出问题的时候，有人会快速检查底部寻找问题产生的原因。

So, if we get down to brass tacks, we can prevent ripoffs and bogus ways of earning money in that jungle out there. And, some good luck will help, too.

所以，务实的话，我们就能在这片丛林里避免各种欺诈和骗钱手段，当然也要有好运气。

Or a woman may ask, " You say you love me. Will you marry me? " She, too, is getting down to brass tacks. How did this expression get started?

或者，一个女人可能会问：“你说你爱我，那么你会娶我吗”？她也是直接切入要点问了最根本的问题。

In other words, someone got down to the brass tacks. No one is sure where the expression first was used, but everyone is sure what it means today.

换句话说，人们直切要点。 没人知道这个表达最初被用于何处，但现在每个人都知道它的意思。