That is an analogy from carpentry. To miss the nail and strike the wood will damage the wood. Hitting the nail off-center may cause the nail to shoot off and fly through the air. When you come up with a perfect solution to a problem it is like hitting the nail squarely.
to tell true
It depends on whether they DID hit the nail on the head or not! If they got it right, spot on, then you say "yes, you did," but if they didn't, you say "no, that wasn't right."
When someone says, "you've hit the nail on the head," they mean that you have accurately identified or addressed a problem or issue. It implies that you have expressed exactly the right idea or solution.
Does it make sense if you translate it literally? If it does, it's not an idiom. Have you ever seen anyone actually hit a ceiling? No, so this must be an idiom.
When someone says "you hit the nail on the head," they mean that your statement or observation is accurate and precise. It implies that you have made a correct assessment or diagnosis about a situation or issue.
The idiom "she hammered it in your head" means that someone emphasized or repeated something continuously until it was firmly understood or remembered by you. It implies a forceful or repetitive communication style to ensure a message gets through clearly.
The meaning of this expression is to say something that perfectly expresses the subject, or provides the most accurate description of a situation. When you are hammering in a nail and you hit is squarely on the head you drive the point of the nail straight home, deep into the wood. If you miss the nail slightly, you may bend the nail, hit your thumb and make a mess of the wood. The expression 'hit the nail on the head' means that you have made the point clearly or described exactly what is causing a situation or problem. The saying, "Hit the nail on the head" is used to mean that you hit your mark, you understood or made the point exactly.
it means go to sleep
You Hit the Nail on the Head was created in 1972.
I bet the expression you're thinking of is "hit the nail on the head" which has to do with striking a hammer against a nail perfectly on target. So the expression means to say something that really thoroughly answered the question. Maybe "hitting the rail on the head" is just a Mondegreen.See related question below for information about Mondegreens.
The idiom "to brain someone" is thought to have originated from the idea of using one's brain as a weapon to strike or hurt someone. It is a figurative expression that means to hit or strike someone on the head with great force.
I have never heard this expression before. I suspect you heard something incorrectly. You should ask whoever said it to explain the meaning. There IS an idiom that says "hit the nail on the head" which means that someone conveyed exactly the right information or got something perfectly correct
Yes, Shel Silverstein has a poem called "Hit the Nail on the Head" that incorporates the idiom into its title. In this poem, Silverstein uses playful language and clever wordplay typical of his style to explore the meaning of the idiom.
There are two nouns in that sentence: "nail" and "head".
It depends on whether they DID hit the nail on the head or not! If they got it right, spot on, then you say "yes, you did," but if they didn't, you say "no, that wasn't right."
The meaning of this expression is to say something that perfectly expresses the subject, or provides the most accurate description of a situation. When you are hammering in a nail and you hit is squarely on the head you drive the point of the nail straight home, deep into the wood. If you miss the nail slightly, you may bend the nail, hit your thumb and make a mess of the wood. The expression 'hit the nail on the head' means that you have made the point clearly or described exactly what is causing a situation or problem. The saying, "Hit the nail on the head" is used to mean that you hit your mark, you understood or made the point exactly.
No, it's a simile.
its called friction when you hit it with the hammer the two surfaces rub together aka the hammer head and the nail head