# Do you know these three words? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 13, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-three-words/567476 "2011-01-13T16:57:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-three-words/567476/21 "2011-01-14T01:52:48Z")
Nibby and nibnose aren’t in the Scrabble dictionary so I try to forget about them lest I get challenged 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-three-words/567476/22 "2011-01-14T02:00:54Z")
I know and used the words _nibby_ and _nosey_. Nosey - like having your nose in everyone’s business Nibby - having littly crunchy bits in it. ex. the cookie had all little nibby bits of toffee in it So no, not interchangeable at all. I have never heard nibnose. ---
**Author:** ![MegaBee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f0a364/32.png) [@MegaBee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MegaBee)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-three-words/567476/23 "2011-01-14T13:30:37Z")
I thought nebby and nebnose were Pittsburghese. That said, I do know all three. ---
**Author:** ![Walkabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walkabout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walkabout)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-three-words/567476/24 "2011-01-14T13:53:45Z")
I live in northern WV, not too far from Pittsburgh, but I’ve only ever heard “nosey” before. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-three-words/567476/25 "2011-01-14T14:04:47Z")
> [@Beniamino](#): > > Pittsburgher here. > > Here, we say “nebby”, which is probably cognate. > [@MegaBee](#): > > I thought nebby and nebnose were Pittsburghese. That said, I do know all three. Another Pittsburgher here. I didn’t know how to vote since around these parts, it’s “nebby” and “nebnose”, with the /e/. I voted technically and said I’d only heard of nosey, but if you said I was being “nibby”, I’d translate it as “nebby” and know what you meant. ---
**Author:** ![slightly\_askew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@slightly\_askew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slightly_askew)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-three-words/567476/26 "2011-01-14T14:27:08Z")
Yep, grew up in SW Pennsylvania (Go Stillers!) Although I thought it was “nebby” and “nebnose”. I also know about gumbands, redin’ off the table and dupas. ---
**Author:** ![Beniamino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@Beniamino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beniamino)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-three-words/567476/27 "2011-01-14T16:21:01Z")
> [@slightly\_askew](#): > > Yep, grew up in SW Pennsylvania (Go Stillers!) Although I thought it was “nebby” and “nebnose”. I also know about gumbands, redin’ off the table and dupas. I have heard (and sometimes say) “red’ _ **up** _ the table”, but I hadn’t ever heard of “dupa” until just now when you mentioned it. So I looked on the web and found this article:[http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/columnists/heyl/s\_603283.html](http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/columnists/heyl/s_603283.html), which seems to suggest that it’s a term of Polish origin. That’s probably why I hadn’t heard of it; in Italian Pittsburghese, we say “cool’” (cf. Std. It. “culo”). Speaking of etymology, I had always heard that “nebby” was of Scotch-Irish origin, which would be going back a long time, since the Scotch-Irish were among the initial settlers of Pittsburgh after the French and English. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-three-words/567476/28 "2011-01-14T17:57:49Z")
The poll results are giving me the finger. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-three-words/567476/29 "2011-01-14T18:09:00Z")
Native Hoosier here. Familiar with all three. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-three-words/567476/30 "2011-01-14T20:26:19Z")
Never heard of Nibby or Nibnose. I’m in NJ currently, but have lived all over. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-three-words/567476.md?page=1)