# long pinky fingernails on men **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 6, 2016, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-pinky-fingernails-on-men/745347 "2016-02-06T19:27:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BAHAMA\_MAMA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@BAHAMA\_MAMA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BAHAMA_MAMA)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-pinky-fingernails-on-men/745347/1 "2016-02-06T19:27:47Z")
Does anyone know why many men (mostly European) keep their pinky fingernails long? I thought it was originally for drugs then I noticed it on painters that I know do not do drugs. I also know a retired priest that does this. So what the heck?? ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-pinky-fingernails-on-men/745347/2 "2016-02-06T21:14:15Z")
Booger pickers. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-pinky-fingernails-on-men/745347/3 "2016-02-06T21:14:31Z")
How do you know they don’t do drugs? ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-pinky-fingernails-on-men/745347/4 "2016-02-06T21:18:12Z")
Some men use them for opening cigarette packs. ---
**Author:** ![BAHAMA\_MAMA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@BAHAMA\_MAMA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BAHAMA_MAMA)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-pinky-fingernails-on-men/745347/5 "2016-02-06T21:27:36Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Booger pickers. Good one :). I know they don’t do drugs because they are close relatives. Besides it’s not that hard to know if someone does drugs. ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-pinky-fingernails-on-men/745347/6 "2016-02-06T21:47:13Z")
European? You sure? I’ve lived in Europe all my life, and I’ve never seen it here. I _have_ seen it in Iran, though. I assumed it was supposed to show that one was too rich and/or well-connected to have to do any manual labor, but the locals assured me it was a musicians’ thing - presumably to be able to use the long nail as a pick when playing some Persian string instrument (?). ---
**Author:** ![BAHAMA\_MAMA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@BAHAMA\_MAMA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BAHAMA_MAMA)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-pinky-fingernails-on-men/745347/7 "2016-02-06T21:54:04Z")
I say European but I’m not sure it is done in Europe. I’m referring mostly to Greek men in the U.S. Your explanations for it are very interesting. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-pinky-fingernails-on-men/745347/8 "2016-02-06T21:56:54Z")
> [@BAHAMA\_MAMA](#): > > I know they don’t do drugs because they are close relatives. If they’re such close relatives, why not ask them? ---
**Author:** ![BAHAMA\_MAMA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@BAHAMA\_MAMA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BAHAMA_MAMA)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-pinky-fingernails-on-men/745347/9 "2016-02-06T22:00:21Z")
Thought about that but I think it would be too embarrassing. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-pinky-fingernails-on-men/745347/10 "2016-02-06T22:45:34Z")
> [@BAHAMA\_MAMA](#): > > I know they don’t do drugs because they are close relatives. Besides it’s not that hard to know if someone does drugs. It’s actually pretty hard to know. If you’re not with them and watching them 24/7, in fact you _can’t_ know. Contrary to depictions you may have seen in the media, ingesting drugs (even repeatedly) does not automatically turn someone into a candidate for playing an extra on _The Walking Dead_. Most drug users look just like you and me. They walk among us, and live totally normal lives. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-pinky-fingernails-on-men/745347/11 "2016-02-07T00:34:31Z")
I have a friend who lets the nail on his little finger grow long. He is an artist. When he makes a mistake, he uses the nail to scrape off the paint before it dries. It is faster and easier than reaching for a knife. ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-pinky-fingernails-on-men/745347/12 "2016-02-07T01:26:23Z")
We had a kid in junior high in the sixties who kept one pinky nail at least an inch or more long. He was “the odd one”, or, at least one of the odder ones. Quiet, kind of creepy, stayed to himself. You know the kind. “He was a loner, officer, very quiet and strange.” :eek: Possibly just a very effete, artistic statement. We might have thought he was gay, but I don’t think most of us could really think that through in those days. ---
**Author:** ![appleaday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/41988e/32.png) [@appleaday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleaday)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-pinky-fingernails-on-men/745347/13 "2016-02-07T09:09:52Z")
Back in the early 70’s, I encountered two men with very long pinky nails: one was a family counselor who had come to talk to our high school psychology class; the other was a waiter in a Mexican restaurant. I was dying of curiosity, but didn’t have the nerve to ask either of them about it. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-pinky-fingernails-on-men/745347/14 "2016-02-07T18:44:30Z")
I asked a guy I knew about it. He claimed it was drug related. He could have been spouting BS. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-pinky-fingernails-on-men/745347/15 "2016-02-07T21:48:40Z")
Wasn’t it for snuff/tobacco/nose candy? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-pinky-fingernails-on-men/745347/16 "2016-02-08T15:40:34Z")
I used to keep one index fingernail long-ish (like 3-4 mm beyond the quick) to open letters, packages and things like that. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-pinky-fingernails-on-men/745347/17 "2016-02-08T16:04:05Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > I have a friend who lets the nail on his little finger grow long. He is an artist. When he makes a mistake, he uses the nail to scrape off the paint before it dries. It is faster and easier than reaching for a knife. So he doesn’t have to bring a gun. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-pinky-fingernails-on-men/745347/18 "2016-02-08T16:10:11Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Booger pickers. Wow. That must be a Hell of a long beach to need a garden spade for. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-pinky-fingernails-on-men/745347/19 "2016-02-08T17:08:54Z")
I started growing my pinky fingernails long several years back, for no particular reason than to see how long they would get. One time the right one grew so long that it came past the height of my middle finger. They usually top out at a little over an inch, though. So in my case, it was simple curiosity. [Also, I concocted a villain at my Deviant Art page called “The Dastardly Disruptor”, who has the ability to shoot weird eldritch energy out of his elongated pinky fingernails.] ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-pinky-fingernails-on-men/745347/20 "2016-02-08T17:11:12Z")
I know my dad keeps it to pick his nose. :eek: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-pinky-fingernails-on-men/745347.md?page=2)