Idiom: "I's" dotted, "t's" crossed

Question

Hi guys,Please, does anyone know the origin of the idiom "dot the i's and cross the t's"? This is very strange looking idiom and I have absolutely no idea why it means do something very carefully and in a lot of detail...Please, what that acronyms I's and T's stands for? Does anyone know it? Answers.com page is just saying that this idiom presumably began as an admonition to schoolchildren to write carefully and is sometimes shortened. I came across to this idiom in an Without a Trace TV show, where this idiom was used by one member of the missing person squad. Boss of the FBI bureau: Any...procedural irregularities that would adversely affect the prosecution of the suspects.FBI employe: Well, you know me boss. "I's" dotted, "t's" crossed. It's all in my report.many thanks in advance guys.Best RegardsJCD

BarbaraPA · Accepted Answer

When you are writing in longhand, in "script" or "cursive" you keep writing letters and don't stop to dot the i's or the j's, or cross the t's. You go back and do that after you write the entire word. Sometimes, you write so fast that you forget to go back and do that. If you have made sure that all the i's are dotted and all the t's are crossed, you have performed your task carefully and made sure you did not miss anything.

It is almost never used as an actualy admonition to school children. It's used instead as a metaphor to mean that you did absolutely everything that is supposed to be done, usually as it relates to following a specific procedure.

A similar metaphor: I made sure nothing is going to fall through the cracks.

JCDenton · Answer

hmm...very interesting. Thanks GG for very clear answer.

have a nice day.

Best Regards

JCD

Anonymous · Answer

i's and t's are not acronums.  They are the plural form of the letters i and t.  The reference about school children refers to writing in a hurry and forgetting to put a dot over the letter i and to remember to cross the t.  It admonishes against carlessness and the reminder that seemingly small details can be important.

Anonymous · Answer

I think the etymology of the idiom - dot your i's and cross your t's -- is actually Biblical or otherwise originated as a religious reference of some kind. I remember my late father-in-law, a Methodist preacher in Virginia, describing the origin of the idiom in those terms, but unfortunately don't remember the details. Have been trying to find the answer on-line without success, but will keep trying (as well as check with mother-in-law) and will report back.

RAD

Anonymous · Answer

Very nice & absolutely correct answer. I read this idiom 1st time in my ITIL book & referred net. & I am thankful u resolved it in 30 seconds.
Thanks again.

Anonymous · Answer

You're referring to Matthew 5:18: a phrase first used in William Tindale's translation of the New Testament in 1526:
One iott or one tytle of the lawe shall not scape.

The King James Version put it this way: For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Both the "jot" and "tittle" refer to very small parts of the written word. "Jot" is derived from the Greek "iota", meaning the letter "i", which is derived from the Hebrew "yod", referring to the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet. "Tittle" refers to any small pen stroke like an accent mark over a letter or the dot over the eye.

Both are used as analogies of very tiny, seemingly insignificant things that actually are rather important.

Anonymous · Answer

When writing in script, if one does not cross their t's and dot their i's, the uncrossed 't' can be misread as an 'l' and the undotted 'i'  can be misread as an 'e' or even an 'l'. Hence this idiom is implying that a seemingly minor error can in effect become a major one.

Anonymous · Answer

I've been writing with a dip pen for a couple of weeks now. Dotting your i's and crossing your t's can take a while, especially dotting your i's; you have to let the pen rest on the paper to get the paper to absorb the ink for the dot. It takes longer than writing the actual "I". Same thing for crossing the t.

If you are trying to write from dictation, you can't do this until you're done.

You also have the problem of the ink drying on the pen and of running out and having to dip again. Modern inks have chemicals in them so that you can leave your ink bottle open the whole time you are writing and it won't dry out.

I feel pretty sure that dotting i's and crossing t's was the last step in producing a document so that you could produce a smooth written line and keep your ink from drying out.

Blue ladder · Answer

I read in an encyclopedia that in England, there was a shortage of ink. So a man was writing a book. To save ink he did not cross his t's or dot his I'd. When he turned it in to the publisher, they said he had to cross his t's and dot his i's before it could be published.

Anonymous · Answer

Dot the i's and cross the t's is an idiom which connotes that no stone is left unturned in a particular matter. Just like when titrating in Chemistry lab, there are precautions to be taken and when given your reports, you will write thus; "I ensure that the burette was well cleansed before I put the chemical inside." That word 'I ensured' is the matter arising. Tony

Idiom: "I's" dotted, "t's" crossed

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