| 释义 |
nitty-gritty
noun
the essence of the matter US, 1944
Coined by black people, then spread into wide use. In the early 2000s, the belief that the term originally applied to the debris left at the bottom of slave ships when the slaves were removed from the ship circulated with speed, certainty and outrage. Whether the initial report was an intentional hoax or merely basis-free speculation, it is a false etymology. All authorities agree that the etymology is unknown yet some ill-informed politically correct types consider the word to have racist overtones.- [W]hen it got down to the nitty-gritty, you could always go to Mister Ben. — Dick Gregory, Nigger, p. 35, 1964
- — Current Slang, p. 2, Spring 1967
- You finished taking our words, too? What do you know know about nitty-gritty? — Nat Hentoff, I’m Really Dragged but Nothing Gets me Down, p. 27, 1968
- — Burton H. Wolfe, The Hippies, p. 205, 1968: “A hip glossary for the uptight people”
- nitty gritty: the heart of the matter, the unvarnished truth. A Negro term much in use by whites during 1968 — Ethel Romm, The Open Conspiracy, p. 245, 1970
- Sapphire believes in gettin’ down to the nitty-gritty; beating around the bush just isn’t her style. — Carolyn Greene, 70 Soul Secrets of Sapphire, p. 39, 1973
- The Real Nitty Gritty — American Speech, pp. 90–101, Spring-Summer 1974
- “If I used nitty gritty I would face a disciplinary charge,” said PC Christ Jefford[.] — Guardian, p. 7, 15 May 2002
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