Okay. Let's get down to brass tacks. Interesting phrase, no?
Everybody knows what it means. It means getting down to business. "Now
we're serious, we're going to get down to brass tacks."
When my mother would buy material at the department store, she would
look over several bolts of cloth, they were called, and make her
selection. She would tell the clerk how many yards she wanted. The
clerk would take her selection and there was a series of brass tacks
nailed into the counter where they measured out the material that she
bought. That was getting down to brass tacks. It was finally doing
business.