Language: en
Meaning: (countable,idiomatic)Often preceded byevery: asmallestdetail;(uncountable)the smallest detailscollectively.He did not get everyjot and tittle, but the plan ultimately adopted was viable.1640, James Usher [i.e.,James Ussher], “Gal[atians] 3.22. But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.”, inEighteen Sermons Preached in Oxford 1640.[…], London:[…]S. Griffin, for John Rothwell[…], published1660,→OCLC,page85:If thou wilt be ſaved by the Law, it is not thy endeavour or doing; what lieth in thee that will ſerve the turn; everyjot and tittlethat the Law requires, muſt be fulfilled.1678,John Bunyan,The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come:[…], London:[…]Nath[aniel]Ponder[…],→OCLC,page194:Then he gave me a Book ofJeſushis inditing, to incourage me the more freely to come: And he ſaid concerning that Book, That everyjot and tittlethereof ſtood firmer then Heaven and earth.1745,John Wesley,A Farther Appeal to Men of Reason and Religion. Part III, London:[…]W[illiam]Strahan; and sold by T. Trye,[…]; Henry Butler,[…],→OCLC, paragraph 11,page88:They deſire indeed to be exact in everyJot and Tittle, in the very ſmallest Points ofChriſtian Practice. But they are not attached to one Point more than another; they aim at uniform, univerſal Obedience.1819December 20 (indicated as1820),Walter Scott, chapter X, inIvanhoe; a Romance.[…], volume I, Edinburgh:[…]Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co.[…],→OCLC,page203:O all ye twelve Holy Fathers of our tribe! what a losing venture is this for one who hath duly kept everyjot and tittleof the law ofMoses.—Fifty zecchins wrenched from me at one clutch, and by the talons of a tyrant!1826,John Kent, “Hymn XIII. P.M. The Same[Everlasting Love].”, inA Collection of Original Gospel Hymns, 6th edition, London:[…]W. Simpkin and R. Marshall,[…],→OCLC, stanza 2,page11:Firm as the lasting hills, / This cov'nant shall endure, / Whose potentshallsandwills/ Make ev'ry blessing sure: / When ruin shakes all nature's frame, / Itsjots and tittlesstand the same.1993, John C. Donovan,Richard E[rnest] Morgan, Christian P. Potholm, Marcia A. Weigle, “Classifying Political Systems”, inPeople, Power, and Politics: An Introduction to Political Science, 3rd edition, Lanham, Md.: Littlefield Adams Quality Paperbacks,Rowman & Littlefield Publishers,→ISBN,page52:That is not to say, for a regime to be meaningfully constitutional, everyjot and tittleof its formal constitutional language must be followed in every case. It is to say first, there must be a substantial correspondence between the actual arrangement of governing power and that described in the constitutionand, second, the individual's rights created by the constitution must be taken seriously by those who exercise governmental power.1994, “‘Why Don’t They Leave It Alone?’”, inMargaret J. M. Ezell,Katherine O’Brien O’Keeffe, editors,Cultural Artifacts and the Production of Meaning: The Page, the Image, and the Body, Ann Arbor, Mich.:University of Michigan Press,→ISBN,page97:Furthermore, we may seek to offset our violation of her [Emily Dickinson's] major intentions by attending to her minor ones every so scrupulously, cleaving to an editorial policy that would respect everyjot and tittleof her manuscripts—at least, everyjot and tittlethat the institutions of printing and publishing can practically accommodate—or, at least, everyjot and tittlethat can be accommodated at an affordable price.1996, Terry Lindvall, “Joy and Hierarchy”, inSurprised by Laughter: The Comic World ofC. S. Lewis, Nashville, Tenn.:Thomas Nelson,→ISBN, part 2 (Joy),page89:Obedience to the rules of the dance is more poetic than military, more pomp than mundane legalism—for skilled dancers are less concerned with thejot and tittleof their regimen than with the perfect harmony of their movement.1999,Steven Pinker, “Word Nerds”, inWords and Rules: The Ingredients of Language, paperback edition, New York, N.Y.:Basic Books, published2015,→ISBN,page131:The flip side of failing to recall an irregular form is tripping a false alarm for one when the verb is in fact regular. Word lookup is not instantaneous, and as it proceeds a few irregular verbs in memory might crudely match a regular probe. That could temporarily slow down the rule until the lastjots and tittlesof the word are properly matched and the false matches have petered out; only then will the rule be allowed to proceed unhindered.2010,Walter Kiechel [III], “Three Versions of Strategy as People”, inThe Lords of Strategy: The Secret Intellectual History of the New Corporate World, Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business Press,Harvard Business Publishing,→ISBN,page283:Software makers pushed into the market with so-called customer-relationship management packages, enabling companies to track eachjot and tittleof business they did with buyers.
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