back to basics


back to basics

Returning to the fundamental aspects of something. Since you're struggling to play chords, let's get back to basics and look at the notes on the scale.See also: back, basic

back to basics

return to basic instruction; start the learning process over again. Class, you seem to have forgotten the simplest of facts, so it's back to basics for the first week of classes.See also: back, basic

back to basics

Back to fundamental principles, as in The plans are much too elaborate; to stay in our budget we have to get back to basics. At first this term was used mainly for schooling that stresses proficiency in reading, writing, and mathematics (also see three R's), but it quickly was transferred to other areas. [1970s] See also: back, basic

back to basics

abandoning complication and sophistication to concentrate on the most essential aspects of something. Back to basics is often used to suggest the moral superiority of the plain and simple, as in a speech made in 1993 by the British Conservative leader John Major , who spearheaded the government's campaign for the regeneration of basic family and educational values in the 1990s.See also: back, basic