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Jackson6612 Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

Once I understand the the fundamentals, then I can proceed to the nitty-gritty

Hi

In the sentence below I want "fundamentals" and "nitty-gritty" to have opposite meanings but from the definition of 'nitty-gritty' it seems they both have synonymous meanings. Is it really so? Or, am I looking at the definition incorrectly? Please help me with it? Could you please suggest me some other word in place of "nitty-gritty" which conveys the intended meaning more clearly? Thank you.

I think the best way would be to go through the fundamental details of the subject first and once I understand the the fundamentals, then I can proceed to the nitty-gritty of the subject.

nitty-gritty
what is essential and basic : specific practical details <get down to the nitty-gritty of the problem>
[M-W's Col. Dic.]

Regards
Jackson
  

Top answer

fine points intricacies inner workings "Nitty-gritty" is slang, anyway. You can't hope for a good definition. It's like nitpicking and getting your hands dirty, maybe.

— Enoon

  • fine points intricacies inner workings "Nitty-gritty" is slang, anyway.
  • You can't hope for a good definition.
  • It's like nitpicking and getting your hands dirty, maybe.
  • "Fundamental details" is a bit oxymoronic, I think.
  • Fundamentals are normally thought of as broad, not detailed.
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6 Answers
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fine points
intricacies
inner workings

"Nitty-gritty" is slang, anyway. You can't hope for a good definition. It's like nitpicking and getting your hands dirty, maybe.

"Fundamental details" is a bit oxymoronic, I think. Fundamentals are normally thought of as broad, not detailed.
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Thank you, enoon.

But don't you agree that the M-W's definition of 'nitty-gritty' is close in meaning to 'fundamentals'? Please let me know. Thanks.

Regards
Jackson
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Jackson6612Thank you, enoon.But don't you agree that the M-W's definition of 'nitty-gritty' is close in meaning to 'fundamentals'? Please let me know. Thanks.RegardsJackson
I was hoping you wouldn't notice that I didn't answer that question. I've only ever used the word facetiously, and I was a hippie, sort of. You "get down to the nitty-gritty", and I think t
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Hi Jackson;

Nitty-gritty is the minutia, or gory details on a particular subject. If I tell you the nitty-gritty of what I did today, then it would be every single detail of my day.

Fundamentals refers to the key ideas, key topics, most important ideas on a particular, usually scholarly, subject.
You will often see a first-year university course titled "Fundamental of Chemi
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Thank you, enoon, AlpheccaEmotion: star's.
AlpheccaStarsHi Jackson;Nitty-gritty is the minutia, or gory details on a par
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The fundamentals of the heliocentric theory of the solar system can be expressed in Kepler's three laws:


1) that the planets revolve about the sun

2) their orbits are elliptical; the sun being at one of the foci

3) their period of revolution gets longer (ie the length of the planet's year) as its distance from the sun increases.


Now the nitty-gritty consi

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