# What does one long fingernail mean? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 19, 2002, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-one-long-fingernail-mean/143745 "2002-12-19T05:14:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-one-long-fingernail-mean/143745/1 "2002-12-19T05:14:09Z")
I just met a 40ish something man with one long fingernail on his pinky (1/2 inch past the end of his finger). Does that mean something? Wasn’t that a sign of a coke user in days past? Am I just hopelessly unhip or is it knda creepy? ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-one-long-fingernail-mean/143745/2 "2002-12-19T05:31:45Z")
Well, it doesn’t necessarily _mean_ anything. But it could be a “coke nail” used to spoon cocaine up the nose. ---
**Author:** ![evilhanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba8739/32.png) [@evilhanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilhanz)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-one-long-fingernail-mean/143745/3 "2002-12-19T05:31:55Z")
Which finger is it? What is the ethnic origin of this person? There are a lot of reasons why someone might have one long fingernail, some cultural, some practical. Guitar and banjo players sometimes let one fingernail grow long, for example. ---
**Author:** ![evilhanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba8739/32.png) [@evilhanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilhanz)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-one-long-fingernail-mean/143745/4 "2002-12-19T05:34:54Z")
ahh - pinky finger. Sorry, I missed it. Check his thumbs. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-one-long-fingernail-mean/143745/5 "2002-12-19T06:05:25Z")
If he was a little older, I’d say he just forgot to cut it. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-one-long-fingernail-mean/143745/6 "2002-12-19T06:59:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by evilhanz \* > \*\*Which finger is it? What is the ethnic origin of this person? There are a lot of reasons why someone might have one long fingernail, some cultural, some practical. Guitar and banjo players sometimes let one fingernail grow long, for example. \*\* Just a white bread kinda guy like me. It looks too long for banjo playing, as it would be pretty fragile. ---
**Author:** ![Bob55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Bob55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob55)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-one-long-fingernail-mean/143745/7 "2002-12-19T09:20:47Z")
Some people grow their pinkies long to use to clean their ears…at least that’s what I saw on Law and Order: Criminal Intent once ---
**Author:** ![mrcrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@mrcrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrcrow)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-one-long-fingernail-mean/143745/8 "2002-12-19T10:12:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bob55 \* > \*\*Some people grow their pinkies long to use to clean their ears…at least that’s what I saw on Law and Order: Criminal Intent once \*\* this is the most likely guitar players let most of the nails on their plucking hand grow. strange my brother in law has the pinky nail long as well its must be an earie sort of thing:) ---
**Author:** ![LifeWillFall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@LifeWillFall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeWillFall)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-one-long-fingernail-mean/143745/9 "2002-12-19T10:45:59Z")
One long fingernail especially on the pinky was kept uncut by lockpickers to get the key one has recently stolen out of the wax mold one has just made. I believe I read this in: The Great Train Robbery, but I’m not cetain, I definetly read it somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-one-long-fingernail-mean/143745/10 "2002-12-19T12:06:53Z")
Harvey Keitel’s pimp in _Taxi Driver_ has one ---
**Author:** ![trader\_of\_shots](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@trader\_of\_shots](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trader_of_shots)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-one-long-fingernail-mean/143745/11 "2002-12-19T12:28:42Z")
What does one long fingernail mean? It means 1 of three things (if it ids meant to mean anything) 1. To Clean ears - very very common (but the length it not Overly long) 2. Is for quick snorts of _enter prefered drug here_ … speed or what not 3. A Sharpened Hardened nail is a very dangerous weapon and can be a sign of prison time. ---
**Author:** ![Visual\_Purple](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5daacb/32.png) [@Visual\_Purple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Visual_Purple)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-one-long-fingernail-mean/143745/12 "2002-12-19T13:39:50Z")
Also look [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=111348&highlight=nail+AND+long+AND+pinky). ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-one-long-fingernail-mean/143745/13 "2002-12-19T14:00:32Z")
A co-worker has a long pinky nail. He’s an EE, and uses it to adjust small potentiometers on printed circuit boards. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-one-long-fingernail-mean/143745/14 "2002-12-19T14:08:45Z")
\>\> What does one long fingernail mean? Low class and not taste. ---
**Author:** ![Frank\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Frank\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank_2)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-one-long-fingernail-mean/143745/15 "2002-12-19T14:49:26Z")
Guess I should chime in (seeing as I let my pinky nail grow longer). The nail of my pinky finger on my right hand (I’m left-handed) is about 1/8" long and tapered slightly. I use it for general scratching and ear cleaning. No drugs, no lockpicking, no portable screwdriver. The longer nail also works well when trying to pick up something lying flat on a table (like a coin, when you just can’t seem to pick it up). ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-one-long-fingernail-mean/143745/16 "2002-12-19T14:53:20Z")
Are there any strange looking candles in his house? ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-one-long-fingernail-mean/143745/17 "2002-12-20T05:33:13Z")
I don’t know which is worse…the drug reason or fingers in the ear. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-one-long-fingernail-mean/143745/18 "2002-12-20T06:05:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jnglmassiv \* > \*\*I don’t know which is worse…the drug reason or fingers in the ear. \*\* Yeah, there’s LOTS of germs under fingernails that you don’t really want to introduce into your ears. Not to mention that fingernails can be sharp, and sharp objects don’t belong in ears. ---
**Author:** ![edwino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@edwino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwino)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-one-long-fingernail-mean/143745/19 "2002-12-20T06:44:07Z")
My pinky finger on both my hands is a bit longer than the other nails. I use them in for playing the _tarifs_ or sympathetic strings of the sitar in different fashions. I use the right one for playing a quick scale down the sympathetic strings etween different movements of the Hindustani classical music I usually play. If you listen to the Beatles “Love You To” (incidentally isn’t that spelled wrong or is it a double entendre?), George plays a few of these right at the beginning of the song. The left one I use for striking the _tarifs_ as accents during the slow, first movement, or _alap_. I keep my right index nail a little long so that I can pluck each string individually (they are hard to reach) for tuning. The other nails I bite but only during movies. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-one-long-fingernail-mean/143745/20 "2002-12-20T09:29:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by edwino \* > \*\*My pinky finger on both my hands is a bit longer than the other nails. I use them in for playing the _tarifs_ or sympathetic strings of the sitar in different fashions. I use the right one for playing a quick scale down the sympathetic strings etween different movements of the Hindustani classical music I usually play. If you listen to the Beatles “Love You To” (incidentally isn’t that spelled wrong or is it a double entendre?), George plays a few of these right at the beginning of the song. The left one I use for striking the _tarifs_ as accents during the slow, first movement, or _alap_. I keep my right index nail a little long so that I can pluck each string individually (they are hard to reach) for tuning. The other nails I bite but only during movies. \*\* That’s most likely the most common explanation. 🆒 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-one-long-fingernail-mean/143745.md?page=2)