The act of fitting things together perfectly, like interlocking puzzle pieces, either literally in woodworking or figuratively in planning.
Present participle of dovetail, from dove + tail. Used metaphorically since the 1600s to mean 'fit together perfectly.'
When project managers talk about 'dovetailing timelines,' they're borrowing 18th-century carpenter language—the same precision that woodworkers needed is now used for planning complex events!
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