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I am going to talk about an English idiom which is related to humans. The idiom is: Hit the nail on the head, so notice the following conversational example to know the meaning of this idiom:
Jeff’s dad: So what’s wrong with you?
Jeff: Nothing important. I just lost my job.
Jeff’s dad: Do you want to borrow some money again?
Jeff: You’ve hit the nail on the head, that’s what I want.
As you can see from the above example, Jeff’s dad noticed that there is something wrong with Jeff and actually he wants to borrow some money from his dad. When Jeff’s dad asks him he wants money, he uses the phrase “hit the nail on the head” which is showing that he is saying the right thing.
Idiom #246
Meaning:
to be exactly correct
to find exactly the right answer
doing or saying something exactly right
To know more about this idiom let’s check the definition of this idiom in some great dictionaries:
Hit the nail on the head:
Oxford:
Cambridge:
to describe exactly what is causing a situation or problem
Merriam-Webster:
to be exactly right
McMillan:
to say something that is exactly right or completely true
The opposite of this idiom is: be / fall wide of the mark
Origin:
The origin of the this idiom related to carpentry, while it is not clear when it was used for the first time. We can say that hitting the head of the nails is what the carpenters want to do in order to reach their goals in their job and that’s the point of meaning in this phrase.
The following meanings are understood from this idiom based on many dictionaries:
- to describe the cause of a problem or situation precisely and correctly
- to be accurately right about something or someone
- to find the exact answer for a question
- to do or to say the right thing
Let’s take a look at some examples about this idiom to understand it better:
I think Mike hit the nail on the head when he said what’s in his wife’s mind.
Beside the other comments, I think the expert hit the nail right on the head when he explained about economic problems.
I’d hit the nail on the head when I talked to the judge about what I have seen in the incident.
Susan hit the nail on the head when she said that what the company was lacking in was mismanagement.
Ted is a smart debugger. He will hit the nail on the head when you ask him about your software coding and he can tell you what is the problem exactly.
When Joe found that how bad friends his son has, he hit the nail on the head in talking with his teacher about the problems of his son.
The doctor hit the nail on the head when he examined me and told me why I feel so much pain on my legs.
When his car couldn’t start, his friend took a look and told him its due to oil leaking. I noticed that he hit the nail on the .
