# For f'n sakes, gentlemen: Trim your fingernails! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 16, 2010, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fn-sakes-gentlemen-trim-your-fingernails/564400 "2010-12-16T19:17:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fn-sakes-gentlemen-trim-your-fingernails/564400/21 "2010-12-17T17:19:40Z")
A lot of African American men I see don’t trim their fingernails. Is that a cultural thing? ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fn-sakes-gentlemen-trim-your-fingernails/564400/22 "2010-12-17T17:32:20Z")
Do not bite them! Emery boards are cheap, buy a package of them. My boyfriend thinks biting is adequate trimming and often ends up with a sharp bit which I discover in a painful way when he wants to be intimate. You guys probably don’t want sharp things near your sensitive parts and neither do we. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fn-sakes-gentlemen-trim-your-fingernails/564400/23 "2010-12-17T17:55:55Z")
I do trim my fingernails pretty assiduously (because they are somewhat brittle), using scissors, but there is a dowside to it: people accuse me of biting my nails. Now that is the one nervous mannerism that I never exhibit. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fn-sakes-gentlemen-trim-your-fingernails/564400/24 "2010-12-17T22:11:01Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > Do not bite them! Emery boards are cheap, buy a package of them. My boyfriend thinks biting is adequate trimming and often ends up with a sharp bit which I discover in a painful way when he wants to be intimate. You guys probably don’t want sharp things near your sensitive parts and neither do we. Can daily use of a emery board replace cutting your nails? Or are they just for touch ups? ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fn-sakes-gentlemen-trim-your-fingernails/564400/25 "2010-12-17T22:28:03Z")
I bite my nails compulsively. And the skin around them. But I’m not getting intimate with you (or anyone) or preparing food for a living, so idgaf. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fn-sakes-gentlemen-trim-your-fingernails/564400/26 "2010-12-18T00:22:05Z")
> [@tr0psn4j](#): > > Can daily use of a emery board replace cutting your nails? Or are they just for touch ups? If you use an emery board daily, yes. You can effectively get rid of new growth that way and always have the same length nails. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fn-sakes-gentlemen-trim-your-fingernails/564400/27 "2010-12-18T01:28:32Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > [Okay](http://img.webmd.com/dtmcms/live/webmd/consumer_assets/site_images/articles/health_tools/what_your_nails_say_slideshow/dermnet_photo_of_bitten_nails.jpg). It’s always interesting to see how long or short people prefer to keep their nails. I always leave 1-2 mm or so of the white part that isn’t glued to my finger, and I always think it looks really weird when people don’t do that. All my fingernails are longer than they are wide. I always keep them short enough to play the violin and piano without trouble. I have a very narrow range that I’m happy with, and thus need to trim them 2-3x a week. ---
**Author:** ![LorieSmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a587f6/32.png) [@LorieSmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LorieSmurf)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fn-sakes-gentlemen-trim-your-fingernails/564400/28 "2010-12-18T17:01:59Z")
My husband is a plumber. He can’t chew his fingernails. Well I guess he could, but, ya know, gross. He overkills on keeping them clipped, almost to the quick. Thank goodness I have a hygienic husband! ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fn-sakes-gentlemen-trim-your-fingernails/564400/29 "2010-12-18T17:16:14Z")
> [@tr0psn4j](#): > > Am I the only guy who can bite his nails to the perfect length? I never use a clipper, yet my nails are always the right length. Nope, that’s how I keep them trimmed. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fn-sakes-gentlemen-trim-your-fingernails/564400/30 "2010-12-18T18:49:25Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > I bite my nails compulsively. And the skin around them. But I’m not getting intimate with you (or anyone) or preparing food for a living, so idgaf. I didn’t realize you were a gentleman. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fn-sakes-gentlemen-trim-your-fingernails/564400/31 "2010-12-18T22:47:31Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > I didn’t realize you were a gentleman. Huh. Funny you say that because my first thought after reading your post was, “ **Wile E** is a woman?” I think she was referring to the frequently expressed distaste over other people biting their nails. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fn-sakes-gentlemen-trim-your-fingernails/564400/32 "2010-12-19T01:19:42Z")
> [@congodwarf](#): > > Huh. Funny you say that because my first thought after reading your post was, “ **Wile E** is a woman?” > … _Sigh_ I guess I need to campaign harder. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fn-sakes-gentlemen-trim-your-fingernails/564400.md?page=1)