do exactly what it says on the tin

present singular third person does exactly what it says on the tin · participle present doing exactly what it says on the tin · past did exactly what it said on the tin · participle past done exactly what it said on the tin · alternative do what it says on the tin

1. IrelandUKidiomaticTo do what is described or what one would expect, with no further explanation needed.First known use 1994

   [The Erotic Art Museum] does exactly what it says on the tin: presents erotic art […]

   2004, Andrea Schulte-Peevers, Germany, Lonely Planet,, →ISBN, page 689

   4 more examples

   So if you've got wood to stain and you want it to dry quickly, use Ronseal Quick-Drying Woodstain. It does exactly what it says on the tin.

   1994, Liz Whiston et al., Ronseal TV advertisement

   “That update is doing exactly what it says on the tin,” Jack started, demonstrating the date of birth restriction. It only returned the day and month now, holding back the year, causing some of Jack's regression tests to fail.

   2013, Stephen J. Sweeney, Firmware, volume 1

   "Until we get a train that performs to specification, it's difficult to put a timeline on it. The train does not do what it says on the tin.

   2022 January 26, Paul Clifton, “Network News: ... and Arterio woes could mean more cascades”, in RAIL, number 949, page 10

   The solutions to this crisis are clear. We must keep fossil fuels in the ground and deliver a clean, green and affordable energy system. We need publicly owned utilities to do what they say on the tin, rather than simply siphon off obscene profits to shareholders.

   2022 August 12, Caroline Lucas, “As drought blights the UK, our politicians have their heads buried in the sand”, in The Guardian

   Synonyms: what you see is what you get