What one making a mad dash is, and does? Basic stuff

WordNet Word definitions in WordNet
n. detailed practical information about how something works or how something can be accomplished

Wiktionary Word definitions in Wiktionary
alt. (context idiomatic English) The basic, inner workings of something; the fundamentals or basics; that which makes something operate, on a basic level. n. (context idiomatic English) The basic, inner workings of something; the fundamentals or basics; ...

Wikipedia Word definitions in Wikipedia
In physics , in the theory of general relativity , spacetimes with at least a 1-parameter group of isometries can be classified according to the fixed point-sets of the action . Isolated fixed points are called nuts . The other possibility is that the fixed ...