down to earthadv.adj.
/ˌdaʊn tə ˈəːθ/, /ˌdaʊn tuː ˈəːθ/, U.S. /ˌdaʊn tə(w) ˈərθ/ A. adv.
Back to the facts or constraints of the actual world, esp. from a set of idealized aspirations, or after a period of introspection or reverie; back to reality.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > reality or real existence or actuality > [adverb] > back to reality
down to earth1847
1847 Adams Sentinel (Gettysburg, Pa.) 1 Feb. The visitor of Westminster Abbey, whilst filling his soul in the contemplation of all that is grand and magnificent, is liable to have his feelings brought down to earth by being reminded that there is a sixpence to pay.
1872 Cleveland (Ohio) Morning Daily Herald 18 May Suppl. Oh! that I had left the Abbey while I was still lifted up above common things. Unfortunately I..came down to earth with a bump.
1930 P. G. Wodehouse Very Good, Jeeves i. 29 I had for some little time been living, as it were, in another world. I now came down to earth with a bang.
1943 J. S. Huxley Evol. Ethics viii. 64 The general moral principle of evolutionary purpose can come down to earth in the concrete task of achieving minimum planning.
1958 X. Fielding Corsair Country viii. 163 So I call for the bill. Which brings us down to earth with an ugly thud.
2002 New Yorker 21 Jan. 74/1 There was something inhuman in a passion as intense as that..and it was bound to come crashing down to earth.
B. adj. Frequently in form down-to-earth.
Without illusions or pretensions; practical and realistic.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > lack of imagination > [adjective]
positive1594
literal1633
unprojecting1647
pounds, shillings, and pence?1650
matter of fact1712
unvisionary1794
unimaginative1814
literalist1838
literal-mindeda1849
visionless1856
realistic1862
terre-à-terre1888
pragmatical1896
illusionless1897
cookie cutter1922
down to earth1922
society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > narrative or story > types of narrative or story generally > [adjective] > realistic
true1671
realistic1829
slice of life1895
down to earth1922
dirty realist1984
1922 Waterloo (Iowa) Evening Courier 17 Apr. 11/1 Dickens wrote things that were ‘down to earth’.
1932 Canad. Forum Feb. 193/3 This book is full of such ‘down to earth’ observations.
1934 M. Hodge Wind & Rain i. ii. 37 She's awfully ‘down to earth’, you know.
1961 Daily Tel. 12 May 14/2 Dame Irene Ward's hope that the committee..will include ‘some down-to-earth people who know something about what goes on’.
2014 Radio Times 23 Aug. (South/West ed.) 127/3 I feared a po-faced modern diva but instead found..a funny, down-to-earth young woman.
Derivatives
ˌdown-to-ˈearthiness n. [ < down to earth adj. + -y suffix1 + -ness suffix] the fact or quality of being down-to-earth.
ΚΠ
1944 Twin Falls (Idaho) Telegram 30 Nov. 5/6 Fashions which are traditionally high-falutin every so often go on a spree of down-to-earthiness.
1956 L. E. Jones Edwardian Youth ii. 55 Julian [Grenfell] had a passion for red-blooded down-to-earthiness.
2013 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 7 Mar. e12/4 There are these misconceptions and generalizations that don't fit this person who is full of spirit and down-to-earthiness.
ˌdown-to-ˈearthness n. the fact or quality of being down-to-earth.
ΚΠ
1923 Jrnl. N.Y. State Teachers' Assoc. Dec. 352/1 We congratulate the Board of Regents..upon the down-to-earthness of the greater part of the Convocation program.
1969 Listener 6 Feb. 189/2 This down-to-earthness most literally strikes home in the anchoring of the play to an actual place.
2006 Scots Mag. June 592/1 I meet constant enthusiasm, tempered with the down-to-earthness that goes with being an islander.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adv.adj.1847