English Explanatory Dictionary

nitty-gritty

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The core or essence of something; the gist.
adj
  1. Dealing with something in great depth.

Pronunciation

/ˌnɪtiˈɡɹɪti/ /ˈnɪtiˈɡɹɪti/ [-ɾi-] En-us-nitty-gritty.ogg

Word forms

nitty-gritty knitty-gritty nitty gritty more nitty-gritty most nitty-gritty

Etymology

Of uncertain origin; said to have been first used by black jazz musicians from the United States, the word is perhaps a reduplication of gritty (“resembling grit”) (ultimately from Proto-Germanic *greutą (“grit”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrewd-) with alteration of the first syllable. An urban legend links the origin of the word to the debris remaining in the holds of slave ships after the slaves had been disembarked, but there is no evidence for this. The word is not attested early enough to have been associated with slavery.

Synonyms

brass tacks nuts and bolts bowels sum core crux essence gist drift guts gravamen heart heart and soul heartstring heartstrings inwardness kernel marrow meat moral of the story nitty-gritty nub pith punctum saliens quintessence soul spirit stuff substance tenor

Derived words

nitty
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