[Ads-l] Antedating of "Nitty Gritty"

[Wilson Gray]

> Part of Merriam-Webster's definition of "nitty gritty" is "specific
practical details."

An argument from authority?


On Mon, Feb 14, 2022 at 8:20 PM Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu> wrote:

> Part of Merriam-Webster's definition of "nitty gritty" is "specific
> practical details."  The 1935 citation is about specific practical
> details.  The sentence after the one I quoted is: "He even has the various
> thumb movements classified."
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
> ________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Mark
> Mandel <markamandel at GMAIL.COM>
> Sent: Monday, February 14, 2022 7:45 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Subject: Re: Antedating of "Nitty Gritty"
>
> Which is significantly different from the modern meaning:
> >>>>>
> the nitty-gritty
> ...
> the basic facts of a situation:
> *Let's get down to the nitty-gritty - how much will it cost?*
> <<<<<
> [
> https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdictionary.cambridge.org%2Fus%2Fdictionary%2Fenglish%2Fnitty-gritty&data=04%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40YALE.EDU%7C8b4312b22e054674d2cf08d9f01c79a8%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C637804827489172428%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=ppqWJjDp%2FLo%2Fi3xEjrpikNBzJZZroEQ4iaV7ck9ZzGY%3D&reserved=0
> ]
>
> MAM
>
>
> On Mon, Feb 14, 2022, 10:44 AM Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu>
> wrote:
>
> > nitty gritty (OED 1940)
> >
> > 1934 Washington Tribune​ 26 Apr. 18/7 (Readex)  Gable ... has the art of
> > hitch-hiking down to a nitty-gritty.
> >
> > Fred Shapiro
> >
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-- 
- Wilson
-----
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-Mark Twain

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