Englishbasics
plural noun
informal
having learnt the basics of dinghy sailing, the next stage is to join a sailing club:
fundamentals, essentials, rudiments, principles, first principles, foundations, preliminaries, groundwork;
essence, basis, core, kernel, nub, marrow, meat, crux, bedrock;
facts, hard facts, practicalities, realities;
Latin sine qua non;
informal nitty-gritty, brass tacks, nuts and bolts, ABC.