一板一眼

yībǎn-yīyǎn
idiom #34,042

Meanings

  1. 1 methodical and by the book
  2. 2 careful and precise; sometimes overly rigid

Examples

Tā zuòshì yībǎn-yīyǎn, cóngbù mǎhu.
He does things by the book and is never sloppy.
Tā jiǎnghuà yībǎn-yīyǎn, xiàng zài niàn gǎo.
She speaks so stiffly and methodically, as if reading from a script.

Tips

culture
板眼 originally refers to the strong () and weak () beats in Chinese opera and traditional music. Keeping to 板眼 meant staying on beat, and the phrase carried into everyday speech meaning "strictly by the rules".

Stroke Order

bǎn
yǎn