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general::
Phrase(s): *by the book [and] *by the numbers
following the rules exactly. (Alludes to a (numbered) book of rules. *Typically: go ~; do something ~; play ~; run something ~.) • The judge of the contest ran things strictly by the rules and disqualified us on a small technicality. • Everyone insisted that we go by the numbers and not accept the proposal.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs