Bottom line?

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Vincent Ding

#379072 Wed, 13 Jun 07 03:10 PM

I'm not sure if bottom line is a decent expression.

An example I can give may go like this:

You can only buy this house for 200,000 dollars at the least. It is the bottom line. I will not sell the house for a penny less.

Thank you for your clarification.

Vincent

Vincent Ding

Joined on Fri, Apr 29 2005

Full Member (182)

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Mister Micawber

#379078 Wed, 13 Jun 07 03:20 PM

Yes, that is appropriate. The phrase is usually used more metaphorically, though. Bottom line = the decisive point.

My first wife was a lousy cook and a sloppy housekeeper, but I stayed with her because she had a high-paying job-- that was the bottom line!

The bottom line is I don't trust this president and his advisors.

And there is the accountant's meaning (bottom line = the last line in a financial statement; the line that shows profit or loss):

As a small business owner, if you don’t watch the bottom line, you can end up at the bottom of the barrel

Mister Micawber

Joined on Wed, Aug 4 2004

Yokohama

Veteran Member (23,435)

'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.'