by the book

by the book — idiom

1. to act according to the established rules or official procedures, without making

1.慣用語B1
釋義

to act according to the established rules or official procedures, without making personal exceptions or deviating from what is required

例句

The new manager always does everything by the book, which some staff find frustrating.

collocation: do everything by the book

Lukas runs his restaurant by the book, checking every invoice against the delivery.

verb + by the book: runs [business] by the book

同義詞
  • by the rules

    less emphatic, often used in sports and games

  • to the letter

    even stricter — suggests following every single detail of a rule

  • above board

    focuses on honesty and legality rather than strictness

反義詞

文法句型

do something + by the book

go by the book

用法筆記

Commonly used in workplace and legal contexts to contrast strict rule-following with flexibility or shortcuts. The phrase does not refer to an actual book — it comes from the idea of an official rulebook.

常見錯誤

❌Please do it according to the book.
✅Please do it by the book.
💡'by the book' is the fixed idiomatic expression; 'according to the book' is not the standard form.
❌He always carries a book to work.' (misunderstanding a literal book)
✅He always does things by the book.
💡the phrase is idiomatic and has nothing to do with an actual book.