to hit the nail on the head

tango, tĕtĭgi, tactum, 3 (old collat. form tago, xi, 3:

tagit Pacuvius in Teucro: ut ego, si quisquam me tagit. Et tagam idem in Hermiona: aut non cernam, nisi tagam: sine dubio antiquā consuetudine usurpavit. Nam nunc ea sine praepositionibus non dicuntur, ut contigit, attigit,

Fest. p. 356 Müll.: PELLEX ARAM IVNONIS NE TANGITO, Lex Numae ap. Fest. p. 222 ib.: sed o Petruelle, ne meum taxis librum, Varr. ap. Non. 176, 18, and 180, 8), v. a. [root tag-; Gr. te-tag-ôn, grasping; tê, take; Lat. tago, tagax; Goth. tēkan, to touch; Engl. take; cf.: inter, contages], to touch (syn. tracto).

Lit.

In gen.:

tangere enim et tangi, nisi corpus, nulla potest res, Lucr 1, 304: tange utramvis digitulo minimo modo,

Plaut. Rud. 3, 4, 15:

genu terram tangere,

Cic. Tusc. 2, 24, 57:

virgā Virginis os,

Ov. M. 11, 308:

aliquem cubito,

Hor. S. 2, 5, 42.—

In partic.

To touch, i. e.,

To take, take away, curry off: Sa. Tetigin' tui quidquam? Aes. Si attigisses, ferres infortunium, Ter. Ad. 2, 1, 24:

de praedā meā teruncium nec attigit nec tacturus est quisquam,

Cic. Fam. 2, 17, 4:

quia tangam nullum ab invito,

id. Agr. 2, 25, 67; Liv. 29, 20. —

To taste, to eat, to drink:

salsa sunt, tangere ut non velis,

Plaut. Poen. 1, 2, 35:

illa (corpora) Non cani tetigere lupi,

Ov. M. 7, 550:

saporem,

id. F. 3, 745:

cupiens varià fastidia cenā Vincere tangentis male singula dente superbo,

Hor. S. 2, 6, 87:

Superorum tangere mensas,

Ov. M. 6, 173:

tetigit calicem clanculum,

has emptied, Plaut. Mil. 3, 2, 10. —

Of places.

To reach, arrive at, come to a place (syn. pervenio):

Verres simul ac tetigit provinciam, statim, etc.,

Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 10, § 27; cf. id. Att. 6, 1, 6:

portus,

Verg. A. 4, 612:

terminum mundi armis,

Hor. C. 3, 3, 54:

vada,

id. ib. 1, 3, 24:

lucum gradu,

Ov. M. 3, 36:

domos,

id. ib. 4, 779;

6, 601: quem (Nilum) simul ac tetigit,

id. ib. 1, 729:

ut tellus est mihi tacta,

id. Tr. 3, 2, 18:

limina,

id. M. 10, 456; Juv. 14, 44:

nocturno castra dolo,

Ov. H. 1, 42 et saep.—

To border on, be contiguous to:

qui (fundi) Tiberim fere omnes tangunt,

Cic. Rosc. Am. 7, 20:

haec civitas Rhenum tangit,

Caes. B. G. 5, 3:

quae (villa) viam tangeret,

Cic. Mil. 19, 51:

vertice sidera,

Ov. M. 7, 61. —

To touch, i. e.,

To strike, hit, beat (mostly poet.):

chordas,

Ov. R. Am. 336:

flagello Chloen,

Hor. C. 3, 26, 12:

quem tetigit jactu,

Prop. 2, 34 (3, 32), 60:

loca tangere fundā,

Tib. 4, 1, 97:

te hora Caniculae Nescit tangere,

to touch, affect, Hor. C. 3, 13, 10.—Euphem., to put to death:

quemquam praeterea oportuisse tangi,

Cic. Att. 15, 11, 2:

statua aut aera legum de caelo tacta,

i.e. struck by lightning, id. Div. 2, 21, 47; so, de caelo tactus, Liv. 25, 7, 7; 29, 14, 3; Verg. E. 1, 17:

e caelo tactum,

Plin. 36, 4, 4, § 10; cf.:

ulmus fulmine tacta,

Ov. Tr. 2, 144:

tacta aedes Junonis,

Plin. 2, 54, 55, § 144.—Prov.:

tetigisti acu (rem),

you have hit the nail on the head, Plaut. Rud. 5, 2, 19; cf.:

tangis en ipsos metus,

the thing you fear, Sen. Oedip. 795.—

To take hold of, to touch, handle, etc.;

esp. in mal. part.: virginem,

Ter. Ad. 4, 5, 52:

cur id ausus's facere ut id quod non tuom esset tangeres?

Plaut. Aul. 4, 10, 14; Ter. Heaut. 4, 6, 15; id. Eun. 4, 7, 27 sq.; Cat. 21, 8; Hor. S. 1, 2, 28; 1, 2, 54.— Absol.:

cibum una capias, assis, tangas, ludas, propter dormias,

Ter. Eun. 2, 3, 81 (82):

si non tangendi copia'st,

id. ib. 4, 2, 10; id. Phorm. 5, 8 (9), 5.—

To besprinkle, moisten, wash, smear, anoint ( poet. and in post-Aug. prose;

syn. tingo): corpus aquā,

Ov. F. 4, 790:

comas tristi medicamine,

id. M. 6, 140:

oculos olivo,

Pers. 3, 44:

superiorem palpebram salivā,

Plin. 28, 4, 7, § 38:

caput igne sulfuris,

Prop. 4 (5), 8, 86; cf.:

voluit tangi lucerna mero,

id. 4 (5), 3, 60:

luto corpora tangit amor,

Tib. 1, 8, 52.—

To color, dye:

supercilium madidā fuligine,

Juvenc. 2, 93. —

Trop.

Of the mind or feelings, to touch, move, affect, impress:

minae Clodii contentionesque modice me tangunt,

Cic. Att. 2, 19, 1:

si vos urbis, si vestri nulla cura tangit,

Liv. 3, 17, 3:

Numitori tetigerat animum memoria nepotum,

id. 1, 5:

mentem mortalia tangunt,

Verg. A. 1, 462:

si curat cor spectantis tetigisse querela,

Hor. A. P. 98:

nec formā tangor, poteram tamen hac quoque tangi,

Ov. M. 10, 614:

vota tamen tetigere deos, tetigere parentes,

id. ib. 4, 164:

nymphas tetigit nova res,

id. ib. 15, 552:

nec amor nos tangit habendi,

id. A. A. 3, 541:

exemplo tangi,

id. H. 15 (16), 326; id. F. 5, 489; Prop. 1, 9, 17:

religione tactus hospes,

Liv. 1, 45, 7:

tetigerat animum memoria nepotum,

id. 1, 5, 6:

si quem gloria tangit,

Sen. Hippol. 27.—

Qs. to prick or stick one, i. e.,

To take in, trick, dupe; to cozen or cheat out of any thing (anteclass.):

tuom tangam patrem,

Plaut. Ps. 1, 1, 118; cf.:

probe tactus Ballio est,

id. ib. 5, 2, 13:

tangere hominem volt bolo,

id. Poen. prol. 101:

istis adeo te tetigi triginta minis,

id. Ep. 5, 2, 40: senem triginta minis, Poët. ap. Cic. de Or. 2, 64, 257:

lenunculum aere militari,

Plaut. Poen. 5, 5, 7: patrem talento argenti, Turp. ap. Non. 408, 28:

tactus sum vehementer visco,

I am limed, caught, Plaut. Bacch. 5, 2, 39:

volucres harundinibus,

Petr. 109.—

To sting or nettle any one by something said:

quo pacto Rhodium tetigerim in convivio,

Ter. Eun. 3, 1, 30; cf.

maledictis,

Fest. p. 356 Müll.—

Of speech, to touch upon, mention, speak of, refer to, cite:

non tango, quod avarus homo est, quodque improbu' mitto, Lucil. ap. Rufin. Schem. Lex. § 12 (p. 274 Frotsch.): leviter unum quodque tangam,

Cic. Rosc. Am. 30, 83:

ubi Aristoteles ista tetigit?

id. Ac. 2, 44, 136:

illud tertium, quod a Crasso tactum est,

id. de Or. 2, 10, 43: ne tangantur rationes ad Opis, be discussed, examined, Anton. ap. Cic. Phil. 8, 9, 26:

si tacta loquar,

Manil. 3, 21; cf.:

quid minus utibile fuit quam hoc ulcus tangere Aut nominare uxorem?

Ter. Phorm. 4, 4, 9.—

To take in hand, undertake (rare):

carmina,

Ov. Am. 3, 12, 17: quis te Carminis heroi tangere jussit opus? prop. 4, 2 (3, 3), 16.

ăcus, ūs, f. [cf. 2. acer].

A needle or pin, as being pointed, both for common use and ornament:“quasarcinatrix veletiam ornatrix utitur,” Paul. ex Fest. p. 9 Müll.

Lit.:

mirabar vulnus, quod acu punctum videtur,

Cic. Mil. 24.—Hence, acu pingere, to embroider, Verg. A. 9, 582; Ov. M. 6, 23; cf. Plin. 8, 48, § 191; Isid. Orig. 19, 22, 22.—Esp. a hair-pin:

figat acus tortas sustineatque comas,

Mart. 14, 24:

foramen acūs,

the eye of a needle, Vulg. Matt. 19, 24.—Also, a surgeon's needle, a probe, Cels. 7, 17.—Hence,

Trop.: acu rem tangere, to touch the thing with a needle; in Engl. phrase, to hit the nail on the head, Plaut. Rud. 5, 2, 19; so,

to denote careful and successful effort: si acum quaereres, acum invenisses,

id. Men. 2, 1, 13.—

The tongue of a buckle, Treb. Poll. Claud. 14.—

I. q. acus, ĕris, Col. 2, 10, 40.—

An implement of husbandry, Pall. 1, 43, 2.

ăcus, ĕris, n. (also, ūs, f., v. 1. acus, III.) [kindred with acus, ūs, Goth. ahana, old Norse agn, old Germ. Agana ], = achuron, the husk of grain and of pulse; chaff, Cato, R. R. 54, 2; Varr. R. R. 1, 52; 57; 3, 9, 8.

ăcus, i, m. [1. acus], a kind of sea-fish with a pointed snout, the hornpike or gar-pike (Gr. belonê):

acus sive belone unus piscium, etc.,

Plin. 9, 51, 76, § 166:

et satius tenues ducere credis acos,

Mart. 10, 37, 6; cf. Plin. 32, 11, 53, § 145, where belonae again occurs. (Some read una for unus in the passage from Plin., and acūs for acos in Mart., as if these forms belonged to 1. acus.)

• You have hit the nail on the head. (Plautus)