Question

Nitty-Gritty the specific heart of the matter; the practical details; the fundamental core of something

Accepted Answer

When you write your report, stick to the nitty-gritty. Grit means tiny, rough granules of stone or sand. Imagine you're trying to examine or explain something. Instead of wasting time on unimportant subjects, you concentrate on the grit, the small but basic and necessary points. "Nitty-gritty," a 20th-century African-American phrase, is a rhyming extension of the word "grit." "Grit" was stretched to "gritty" and was rhymed with "nitty" to make a colorful, fun phrase.

Idiom	Nitty-Gritty
Example	When you write your report, stick to the nitty-gritty.
Meaning	the specific heart of the matter; the practical details; the fundamental core of something
Origin	Grit means tiny, rough granules of stone or sand. Imagine you're trying to examine or explain something. Instead of wasting time on unimportant subjects, you concentrate on the grit, the small but basic and necessary points. "Nitty-gritty," a 20th-century African-American phrase, is a rhyming extension of the word "grit." "Grit" was stretched to "gritty" and was rhymed with "nitty" to make a colorful, fun phrase.

Nitty Gritty Write Report Stick Specific Heart Matter Practical