# Gah! Fingernails! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 31, 2006, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-fingernails/358881 "2006-05-31T15:19:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-fingernails/358881/1 "2006-05-31T15:19:53Z")
Possibly this is my own little pet peeve, but I think personal grooming should be done at home, not at the office within sight – and sound – of co-workers. Of me. Two offices down is a guy who regularly snips his fingernails at work. SNIP! SNIP! SNIP! SNIP! I can hear it going on and on … well, repeated 10 times, at the very least. Maybe someone can explain to me why this grosses me out so. It’s not as though fingernails in general make me ill. It’s just when they’re SNIP! SNIP! SNIP! SNIPPED! that I want to run down the hall screaming like my hair’s on fire … … just as I did about three weeks ago in a staff meeting when ANOTHER co-worker sat there and … and … (I can barely speak the words) _chewed on his fingernails_ thoroughly and systematically over the course of about 20 minutes. He was sitting right next to me, in my line of sight to our boss, so I couldn’t look away forever. Even when I turned my head I could see his purposeful _gnawing_. The slow, _peeeeeeling_ and (God!) chomp-chomp-chomp as he ?? ate the pieces. I’ve been in this department since last fall. I had no idea I would be entering the Land of the Fingernail Slayers. Maybe I should be grateful it’s not _toe nails_. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-fingernails/358881/2 "2006-05-31T15:26:26Z")
It’s kind of like showering in the middle of the office. Showering in the dressing rooms at work is OK. Clipping your nails in the dressing rooms at work is OK. Doing either in the office is not OK. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-fingernails/358881/3 "2006-05-31T15:32:03Z")
> [@Ellen Cherry](#): > > …chomp-chomp-chomp as he\*\* ?? ate \*\*the pieces. You would prefer he spit them out during the meeting? _::: shudder :::_ Gah. Yeah, I’m with you on this one. The sound bugs me, but it’s more the action. I find it incredibly rude. This sort of thing should be done at home. If you have a hangnail that needs immediate attention, fine, but a full-out nail-cutting needs to be saved for home. I’m not the confrontational type, but depending on the situation and the people involved, I might have said something. Maybe, “Do you really think the staff meeting is the best place to clip your nails?!?” In a semi-loud voice. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-fingernails/358881/4 "2006-05-31T16:03:57Z")
Spitting out the chewed nails would have sent me, gagging, from the room. I wanted to offer him a cool beverage to wash down his meal. [pukie smiley] ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-fingernails/358881/5 "2006-05-31T16:18:18Z")
Back in the day, when I road the NY subways, I would hear people clipping their nails and start to think I was on the Long Island Railroad and start looking for my ticket to be punched. It was unnerving and a little gross. Not as gross, however, as the lady on the J train that time who was plucking curly hairs from her chin. ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-fingernails/358881/6 "2006-05-31T16:21:13Z")
> [@Ellen Cherry](#): > > Maybe I should be grateful it’s not _toe nails_. When I was a kid, and considerably more limber, I discovered one day that I could chew my toenails instread of having to trim them. At some point, I realized these were my feet I was sticking in my mouth and stopped. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-fingernails/358881/7 "2006-05-31T16:26:38Z")
**MBG** , you are \*so \* no longer my Quintessential Fantasy Man.™ 😉 ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-fingernails/358881/8 "2006-05-31T17:14:47Z")
Every office I’ve ever worked in has a guy that clips his nails at his desk. In fact, the guy int he office right behind me is doing _right this minute_. I so totally don’t get this. Why do guys (I’ve never heard a woman clip her nails at work) think it’s appropriate to do this at work? (do them home in front of the TV like a normal person) ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-fingernails/358881/9 "2006-05-31T17:41:52Z")
One day we had a substitute teacher in 8th grade honors history. Mr. Reed. Mr. Reed was approximately 180 years old, always wore a fuzzy green checked sport jacket and red tie, and had all the social graces of a Jolt-chugging wolverine. We were taking a test that day, and the room was dead silent, until - _snip_. I glanced around but saw nothing except Mr. Reed sitting behind the desk looking innocent. I went back to my test. _snip_. This time I was sure it came from the teacher’s desk, but when I looked up Mr. Reed was motionlessly contemplating the ceiling. I lowered my head back to my paper but kept a watch on him from the corner of my eye. I saw him look down to his hands, out of sight behind the desk, and then I heard, _snip_. The first giggles started. And once a room full of silent and tense 13 year olds gets started, nothing short of a nuclear blast is going to stop it. We tried to contain ourselves, and for a few minutes all you could hear was a lot of choking and snorting sounds as we swallowed our laughter. And then… _snip_ We were gone. Mr. Reed snorted at us, pulled out a newspaper, and hid behind it for the rest of the period. Eventually we settled down on our own, and with the exception of the occasional solitary giggle, finished our tests. I think everybody got at least a minus 5 on that test. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-fingernails/358881/10 "2006-05-31T18:46:11Z")
> [@tremorviolet](#): > > Every office I’ve ever worked in has a guy that clips his nails at his desk. In fact, the guy int he office right behind me is doing _right this minute_. I so totally don’t get this. Why do guys (I’ve never heard a woman clip her nails at work) think it’s appropriate to do this at work? (do them home in front of the TV like a normal person) People probably do it at work because they have other stuff they want to do when they’re at home. At work they need something to occupy the times when they should be, well, working. The clipping doesn’t bug me too much, but people who just let the clippings land on the floor do. Use a trash can dammit! ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-fingernails/358881/11 "2006-05-31T19:19:33Z")
> [@tremorviolet](#): > > Every office I’ve ever worked in has a guy that clips his nails at his desk. That could be me. If I have a nail that’s bothering me at work, I’ll pull out the car-shaped nail clippers I have and cut it off. I honestly cannot understand why this would bother anyone. No one can see me doing it unless they come and lean over my chair. If it’s the clipping sound that bothers you, then I get it even less. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-fingernails/358881/12 "2006-05-31T19:29:24Z")
> [@Arnold Winkelried](#): > > If I have a nail that’s bothering me at work, I’ll pull out the car-shaped nail clippers I have and cut it off. I honestly cannot understand why this would bother anyone. Like I said, if it’s one rough edge or a hangnail, fine. I’ve done that. But a regular nail clipping, where you cut all 10, do it at home. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-fingernails/358881/13 "2006-05-31T19:49:54Z")
> [@BiblioCat](#): > > But a regular nail clipping, where you cut all 10, do it at home. Why? I see or hear (or smell) people at work brushing their hair at their desks, eating lunch at their desks, making personal phone calls from their desks, brushing their teeth in the restrooms, etc. None of this bothers me. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-fingernails/358881/14 "2006-05-31T19:52:15Z")
We’re forgetting the gnawing and the chewing here, people! The nail biters! The hideous ripping and tearing of dirt- and germ-encrusted fingernails by people with _their very teeth_ – and ingesting these spikey filth-encrusted morsels afterward! It’s just hideous. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-fingernails/358881/15 "2006-05-31T20:14:19Z")
Here at work a few years ago there was a temp filling in at the reception desk in the Dean’s office. She got up, borrowed scissors from the other woman in the office, and proceeded to cut her TOE nails at the reception desk. The best part was that she borrowed someone else’s scissors to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-fingernails/358881/16 "2006-05-31T20:19:08Z")
> [@Ellen Cherry](#): > > Possibly this is my own little pet peeve, but I think personal grooming should be done at home, not at the office within sight – and sound – of co-workers. Of me. > > Two offices down is a guy who regularly snips his fingernails at work. SNIP! SNIP! SNIP! SNIP! I can hear it going on and on … well, repeated 10 times, at the very least. Maybe someone can explain to me why this grosses me out so. It’s not as though fingernails in general make me ill. It’s just when they’re SNIP! SNIP! SNIP! SNIPPED! that I want to run down the hall screaming like my hair’s on fire … > > … just as I did about three weeks ago in a staff meeting when ANOTHER co-worker sat there and … and … (I can barely speak the words) _chewed on his fingernails_ thoroughly and systematically over the course of about 20 minutes. He was sitting right next to me, in my line of sight to our boss, so I couldn’t look away forever. Even when I turned my head I could see his purposeful _gnawing_. The slow, _peeeeeeling_ and (God!) chomp-chomp-chomp as he ?? ate the pieces. > > I’ve been in this department since last fall. I had no idea I would be entering the Land of the Fingernail Slayers. Maybe I should be grateful it’s not _toe nails_. Um, this guy two offices down the hall… Is he wearing a yellow polo shirt and no shoes today? If so, I’m sorry about the whole fingernail clipping thing. I didn’t realize it bothered you, and I _did_ shut the door to my office. ---
**Author:** ![Ashes\_Ashes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@Ashes\_Ashes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashes_Ashes)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-fingernails/358881/17 "2006-06-01T00:39:15Z")
We have two guys at work who clip their nails at meetings, one of them even does it at the lunch table while others are eating. His hands are covered with warts the size of candy corn, had the \*flesh eating virus \* a couple of years ago, and sees nothing wrong with flicking pieces of his nails around the lunchroom. ---
**Author:** ![gardentraveler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gardentraveler/32/3576_2.png) [@gardentraveler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gardentraveler)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-fingernails/358881/18 "2006-06-01T01:18:24Z")
> [@Ashes](#): > > We have two guys at work who clip their nails at meetings, one of them even does it at the lunch table while others are eating. His hands are covered with warts the size of candy corn, had the \*flesh eating virus \* a couple of years ago, and sees nothing wrong with flicking pieces of his nails around the lunchroom. Ewwwwwwww!!! I’m lucky. No one I work with does this. I’m hoping this doesn’t change. Ever. GT ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-fingernails/358881/19 "2006-06-01T01:41:07Z")
I used to share an office with a guy who clipped his nails at work. I mentioned once that I thought it odd. He thought it odd that I thought it odd. I still think it is an odd practice. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-fingernails/358881/20 "2006-06-01T02:19:51Z")
That sound is one of my least favorite sounds. It really grates on me. One time a friend of mine was visiting, and somehow found a nail clipper and proceeded to clip his toenails through the visit, letting the clipping fall on the carpet. Ewww. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-fingernails/358881.md?page=2)