back to basics

English

Alternative forms

• back-to-basics

Etymology

From back + to + basics.

Adverb

back to basics (not comparable)

1. back to fundamental principles

   You can't teach them calculus when they can't add up; let's get back to basics.

Noun

back to basics (uncountable)

1. (politics, chiefly UK) A conscious return to principles such as self-respect, decency and honesty; especially the discredited policy of the Conservative government in the 1990s.

See also

• Victorian values