I was listening to NPR yesterday and they were talking about the false hyp over when your kids get lice…that it is not very contagious…anyway that would be for a different thread.
They mentioned the lice eggs are called nits. I wondered if that is where the term “nit picking” comes from…the picking of nits…Lice eggs?
Yep.
Random House’s Word Maven on nitpick.
“crummy” also has the same origin, as nits resemble bread crumbs.
“Jiggers, this place is lousy with cops,” warned the lay-chickie.
Inthe days when wigs were the fashion, there was a corps of people who picked nits out of wigs. I imagine that rich folks had their own nitpickers. Regular folks probably had to either pick their own nits or pay for the service.
My cite is the less than academically rigorous “The Worst Jobs In History” the companion book to the British TV show starring Tony Robinson of Black Adder fame.
Nitpicking is one word.
<snerk!>
<<heh>> Snort!
Why you lousy…
Lousy nitpicker.
Speaking of surprising word origins, last year there was a minor controversy at the New York Times because the crossword puzzle had the word “scumbag” in it. Turns out that the Times has a policy against printing that word, but Will Shortz featured it in a puzzle!
I read somewhere that a British crossword compiler - probably from either The Times or The Telegraph - sneaked the following clue into his last puzzle before he retired:
Wrinkled retainer (7)
SCROTUM