by the book
idiom
: by following the official rules very strictly
My boss insists on doing everything by the book.
Examples of by the book in a Sentence
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Inspired by the book ‘Cooking for Kings: The Life of Antonin Carême, The First Celebrity Chef’ by historian and actor Ian Kelly, Carême is created by Kelly and Davide Serino.
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Max Goldbart, Deadline, 5 Feb. 2025
There’s often some kind of hitch, but still, most agents are straight arrows who play by the book.
—Lew Sichelman, Miami Herald, 5 Feb. 2025
That stuffy chief who has been doing things by the book his whole career and has had it up to here with our loose-cannon shenanigans?
—Brian Grubb, Vulture, 31 Jan. 2025
Listen to this article David Wright has always played it by the book.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 18 Jan. 2025
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Max Goldbart, Deadline, 5 Feb. 2025
There’s often some kind of hitch, but still, most agents are straight arrows who play by the book.
—Lew Sichelman, Miami Herald, 5 Feb. 2025
That stuffy chief who has been doing things by the book his whole career and has had it up to here with our loose-cannon shenanigans?
—Brian Grubb, Vulture, 31 Jan. 2025
Listen to this article David Wright has always played it by the book.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 18 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for by the book
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Cite this Entry
“By the book.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/by%20the%20book. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
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