Nearby Words

nitty gritty

[nit-ee-grit-ee] Origin

nit·ty-grit·ty

[nit-ee-grit-ee] Slang.
noun
1.
the essential substance or details of a matter; basics; crux: Let's skip the chitchat and get down to the nitty-gritty.
adjective
2.
fundamental, detailed, or probing: nitty-gritty questions.
3.
direct and practical: nitty-gritty advice; a nitty-gritty system.

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Nitty gritty is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.

Origin:
1960–65, Americanism; rhyming compound of uncertain origin
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To nitty gritty
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

nitty-gritty
"basic facts," 1961, knitty-gritty, Amer.Eng., said to have been chiefly used by black jazz musicians, perhaps ult. from nit and grits "finely ground corn."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary

nitty-gritty definition

[ˈnɪdi ˈgrɪdi]
  1. n.
    the essence; the essential points. (Usually in get down to the nitty-gritty.) : Once we are down to the nitty-gritty, we can begin to sort things out.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature