| Library / English Dictionary |
NITTY-GRITTY
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience
Example:
the nub of the story
Synonyms:
center; centre; core; essence; gist; heart; heart and soul; inwardness; kernel; marrow; meat; nitty-gritty; nub; pith; substance; sum
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("nitty-gritty" is a kind of...):
cognitive content; content; mental object (the sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered, or learned)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "nitty-gritty"):
bare bones ((plural) the most basic facts or elements)
hypostasis ((metaphysics) essential nature or underlying reality)
haecceity; quiddity (the essence that makes something the kind of thing it is and makes it different from any other)
quintessence (the purest and most concentrated essence of something)
stuff (a critically important or characteristic component)
