nitty-gritty
Nitty-gritty (noun) means the most basic and practical details of a matter, reached once the general discussion is out of the way. Example: “Once everyone agreed on the plan, we got down to the nitty-gritty of who pays for what.”
How to use nitty-gritty
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe small practical details you have to sort out once the big idea is agreed.
Informal but perfectly acceptable in ordinary business speech and writing. Some organisations avoid it because of the unfounded slavery claim, so know your audience.
It almost always follows "get down to" or "the nitty-gritty of"; the noun rarely stands alone as a subject.
Trace the full origin ↓Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
Once everyone agreed on the plan, we got down to the _____ of who pays for what.
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
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Related words
Rhymes for nitty-gritty
See all rhymes for nitty-gritty →Frequently asked questions
Is nitty-gritty a racist term?
There is no evidence that it is. The claim that it referred to debris in the hold of slave ships circulates widely online, but the phrase is not recorded in English until the twentieth century, long after the transatlantic slave trade, and no historical source connects it to ships. Etymologists treat the origin as simply unknown, probably a rhyming reduplication.
What is the difference between nitty-gritty and brass tacks?
They are close to interchangeable and both mean the practical essentials. "Get down to brass tacks" leans slightly more towards the hard commercial facts of a deal, while nitty-gritty covers detailed working arrangements of any kind.
Is it hyphenated?
Usually, yes: nitty-gritty is the dominant spelling in edited prose. Nitty gritty as two words is common informally and is not treated as an error by most style guides.
What is the meaning of nitty-gritty?
"nitty-gritty" (noun) means the most basic and practical details of a matter, reached once the general discussion is out of the way.