Nitty-gritty

Pronunciation

Origin

Uncertain, said to have been used at first by black jazz musicians, perhaps ultimately from reduplication nit and grits (finely ground corn), from Old English grytt, grytta ("coarse meal").

Full definition of nitty-gritty

Noun

1. (colloquial) The essence or core of something; the details.He gave a short summary without getting into the nitty-gritty of the problem.

Synonyms

• brass tacks
• details
• low-level
• nuts and bolts