nitty-gritty

Etymology

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”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

nitty-gritty (uncountable)

1. (colloquial) The essence or core of something; the details.

   He gave a short summary without getting into the nitty-gritty of the problem.