nitty-gritty

[Victor Steinbok]

Not just "picnic", but also "handicapped" and "niggardly", among others.

Online Etymological Dictionary:

> "basic facts," 1961, knitty-gritty, Amer.Eng., said to have been
> chiefly used by black jazz musicians, perhaps ultimately from nit and
> grits "finely ground corn."

Just the fact that this is a purely 20th century expression should have
ended any speculations on the subject.

Certainly, 1961 is not right. I just found a 1947 newspaper source.
"Basic facts" is not quite right either (at least, it's not the only
meaning). On the other hand, the ethnic derivation is likely valid.

http://goo.gl/eKncG
Richmond Afro American - Oct 25, 1947 [p. ##?? Editorial page]
Still Hope for Hampton [Editorial]
> As an educator he displayed nothing more than a set of vague ideas
> about education and democracy which only became more nebulous the
> closer he got to the nitty-gritty of pulling them into practice.

OED has the noun to 1940 and adjective to 1956. Not much on etymology.

Incidentally, that 1947 quote does not quite match either the definition
above or the OED one.

> /colloq./ (orig. /U.S./ in African-American usage). *A.* n.
>   The most important aspects or practical details of a situation,
> subject, etc.; the harsh realities; the heart of the matter. Freq. in
> (to get) down to the nitty-gritty.

I suppose, the "harsh realities" version works. My impression has always
been that "getting down to the nitty-gritty" meant attending to
practical details--i.e., the 1947 bio meant that the man was good in
oratorical theory, but not so good in practical details when they needed
to be attended to--or perhaps some small, annoying details, in the care
of which one might be accused of "nit-picking". So, in this case, the
"harsh realities" are more of a consequence. But it's not a question of
"most important" details--just actually attending to them, in practice.
Perhaps my interpretation is wrong or the definition has evolved in both
directions over the years.

The "knitty" spelling is also interesting--if it can be documented as
well established, it would dispel the myth on the spot. Google News
finds citations of them from 2011, but that does not mean that it
antedated the k-less version. But it seems unlikely.

As is the case with so many items, the LoC copyright reporter gives a
song (?) or some other musical composition registered on Dec 9, 1937. It
could be a noun or it could be an adjective--I'll let experts decide.
One thing is clear, though--it antedates both.

http://goo.gl/7310s
> That nitty gritty dance; w Joe Grey, and melody ... (c) Dec. 9, 1937;
> E unp. 156738; Arthur Herrington Gibbs, New York

There are no results for "knitty-gritty" through at least 1960 (I did
not bother to look later).

     VS-)

On 12/12/2011 3:19 PM, Laurence Horn wrote:
> Ah, right up there with "picnic".  Has snopes.com been alerted?  This appears designed to confirm the OED's statement that while n-g may be a reduplicated form of "gritty", "Other etymologies have been suggested but do not appear to be supported by any firm evidence." =20
>
> But if "nittygritty" really does derive from 'the state of a naked unwashed slave', I wonder what that tells us about the true meaning of "Nitty Ditty Nitty Gritty Great Bird" (the variant version of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band" cited by George W. Bush a while back).
>
> LH
>
> On Dec 12, 2011, at 3:01 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>
>>> =46rom another website:
>> "Nittygritty is the state of a naked unwashed slave so is now
>> considered politically incorrect and racist."
>>
>> JL

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