Whiteisms
The Archive

Etymology Journal ยท T

The bottom line is...

Meaning

The final conclusion or the most important fact of a situation. It acts as a conversational scalpel to cut through fluff.

Direct, business-like

Used in a sentence

  • The bottom line is that we cannot afford a new house right now.
  • We can talk about the perks, but the bottom line is the base salary.
  • The bottom line is we need to be at the airport by six.

The backstory

Financial jargon referring to the last line on an income statement, which shows the final profit or loss. It moved from accounting into general talk for 'the truth is.'

Heard in

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