In reference tocursive (joined up) writing, where addingthe dot to the letteri and the crossbar to the lettert is done after one reaches the end of the word and thus may be forgotten if one is not being careful.
dotthei'sandcrossthet's (third-person singular simple presentdots the i's and crosses the t's,present participledotting the i's and crossing the t's,simple past and past participledotted the i's and crossed the t's)
- (idiomatic) To take care of everydetail, evenminor ones; to bemeticulous orthorough; tofinish off something close to complete.
Before taking the project to the CEO, let's make sure wedot the i's and cross the t's.
- 1858, United States Congress,Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, from 1789 to 1856, D. Appleton, page387; from a January 1820 debate
Pray, sir, what is the object of referring a bill to a committee —merely todot the i's and cross the t's?
Take care of every detail
