A. Hamilton note described Trump almost to a T

To a T
What's the meaning of the phrase 'To a T'?
If something is said to fit 'to a T' it fits exactly; properly; precisely.

What's the origin of the phrase 'To a T'?
To a T
The expression 'to a T', is often extended to form other phrases: 'down to a T', 'suits to a T', 'fits to a T', 'generous to a T' etc.

It is also found in advertising copy like 'Golf to a tee' and 'Coffee to a tea'. Those latter jokey versions are extensions of the alternative spellings 'tee' or 'tea'.

The original form 'to a T' is an old phrase and the earliest citation that I know of is in James Wright's satire The Humours and Conversations of the Town, 1693:

"All the under Villages and Towns-men come to him for Redress; which he does to a T."

It is difficult to determine the origin of this phrase. It would be helpful to know the correct spelling; 'T', 'tee' or 'tea'.

'Tea' is the easiest to dispose of, as it appears in no early citations of the expression and is clearly just a misspelling.


Let's look at the theory that the spelling of the phrase is 'to a tee'.

This view is based on the belief that the 'tee' is from a sporting context and that the phrase derives either from the sport of golf or the sport of curling. Both sports have a 'tee' - at the starting and ending point respectively.

To a T
The curling usage would seem to match the meaning better as the tee is the precise centre of the circle in which players aim to stop their stones.

However, neither golf nor curling is referred to in any of the early citations of the phrase and there's really no evidence to support either derivation apart from use of the word 'tee'. The 'to a tee' version isn't recorded at all until 1771 when J. Giles used it in his Poems:

"I'll tell you where You may be suited to a tee."

John Jamieson, in the etymological dictionary Jamieson's Dictionary of the Scottish Language, 1867, records 'to a tee' as 'to a tittle'. If even a 19th century Scots lexicographer doesn't support the Scottish sports origins they would seem to lack credibility.

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People are happy to use this phrase having no idea what a 'T' is.
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Given Wright's earliest 'to a T' usage and the lack of evidence to support the 'tee' or 'tea' versions, it is safe to state that the proper spelling is 'to a T'.

So, what T was meant? Again, there are alternatives; 'T-shirt', or 'T-square', or some abbreviation of a word starting with T. So, what of the alternative theories?

'T-shirt', a name of American origin referring to the shape of the garment in question. At first sight, this may be an appealing explanation. The phrase is often extended as 'fits to a T/tee/tea' and t-shirts, notably on the bulky frame of Bruce Willis, are certainly close fitting. Sadly, 't-shirts' are a 20th century invention so, as far as this explanation is concerned, are more than 200 years too late and can't be taken as a serious contender.
'T-square' has something going for it, in that a T-square is a precise drawing instrument, but also lacks any other evidence to link it to the phrase.
The letter 'T' itself, as the initial of a word. If this is the derivation then the word in question is very likely to be 'tittle'. A tittle is a small stroke or point in writing or printing and is now best remembered via the term jot or tittle. The best reason for believing that this is the source of the 'T' is that the phrase 'to a tittle' existed in English well before 'to a T', with the same meaning; for example, in Francis Beaumont's Jacobean comedy drama The Woman Hater, 1607. we find:

Ile quote him to a tittle.

In this case, although there is no smoking gun, the 'to a tittle' derivation would probably stand up in court as 'beyond reasonable doubt'.

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A 'prophetic' Alexander Hamilton note described Trump almost to a T

Alexander Hamilton was obsessed with the threat a presidency like Trump's poses for America
© provided by RawStory

This week, former President Donald Trump proclaimed in one of his Truth Social tirades that, "Our Founding Fathers are looking down at Biden with scorn right now. They’re looking down at Biden and this administration with disbelief.”

But the irony of this statement, wrote conservative commentator Charlie Sykes for The Bulwark on Friday, is that in fact, the founders spent an enormous amount of their writings preoccupied with the worry a person like Trump would take power. And indeed, Alexander Hamilton made an almost "prophetic" warning of a person like Trump in a letter to George Washington in 1792.


In the letter, Hamilton outlines his worries about a demagogue rising to power through unprincipled attacks on the entire governing class that went along with promises that he alone could fix what ails the nation.
"When a man unprincipled in private life desperate in his fortune, bold in his temper, (possessed of considerable talents, having the advantage of military habits), despotic in his ordinary demeanor, known to have scoffed in private at the principles of liberty, when such a man is seen to mount the hobby horse of popularity, to join in the cry of danger to liberty, to take every opportunity of embarrassing the General Government & bringing it under suspicion, to flatter and fall in with all the nonsense of the zealots of the day, It may justly be suspected that his object is to throw things into confusion that he may ‘ride the storm and direct the whirlwind,’" stated the letter from Hamilton.


POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?

This is not the first time that experts have warned Trump is the antithesis of the founders' vision for America, with former Defense Secretary William Cohen issuing the same warning.

Moreover, Trump, who is currently facing multiple criminal indictments for attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election, has often expressed disdain for the rule of law, attacking any authorities who are investigating his conduct and even at one point suggesting the "termination" of the Constitution in order to reinstall him as president.

Ultimately, Sykes concluded, founders like Hamilton would have no difficulty seeing Trump as the embodiment of the threat to liberty they feared. And "if the Founders are, in fact, watching all of this, I imagine that George Mason would like to have a word with James Madison" — as Mason was the one to warn that the president having pardon powers could give them a blank check to commit crimes and cover it up, as some experts fear Trump appears intent on doing.

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