different between nutty vs nitty

English

Etymology

nut +? -y

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?ti/
• Rhymes: -?ti

Adjective

nutty (comparative nuttier, superlative nuttiest)

1. Containing nuts.

2. Resembling or characteristic of nuts.
   • 1997, Mary Jo Plutt, Prevention's Stop Dieting and Lose Weight Cookbook, Rodale, ?ISBN, p. 210:

     Brown rice has had only its outer hull removed, leaving it with a beige color and a a pleasantly nutty flavor.

3. Barmy, crazy, mad.

4. (Britain, dated) Extravagantly fashionable
   • 1932, Frank Richards, "The Complete Outsider", The Magnet

     Skinner's friendship with his nutty pals seemed to have come to a sudden end.

Usage notes

In sense “insane”, similar to nuts, but more limited and somewhat milder: nutty means “eccentric, insane”, while “nuts” can mean either “insane” or “enthused, agitated” (“the crowd went nuts”), for which “nutty” is not used: *“the crowd went nutty”.

Synonyms

• nuts, squirrelly
• See also Thesaurus:insane

Related terms

• nutter
• nutty as a fruitcake

Translations

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): (modern) /?n?ti?/, (older) /?n?t?/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?n?ti/, /-?i/
• Rhymes: -?ti
• Hyphenation: nit?ty

Etymology 1

From nit +? -y. The “foolish, inane” adjective sense is from nit (“fool, nitwit”), possibly under the influence of nutty (“crazy, mad”).

The origin of the noun sense (“dope fiend, druggie”) is unknown, but could refer to a person who is under the influence of drugs to the extent that he or she is careless about personal hygiene and unkempt. Compare the verb nit (“to be a nitty”).

Adjective

nitty (comparative nittier or more nitty, superlative nittiest or most nitty)

1. (archaic, also figuratively) Full of nits.

   Synonym: lousy
2. (chiefly Britain, slang) Foolish, inane.

   Synonyms: dumb, idiotic

Alternative forms

• nittie (obsolete)

Translations

Noun

nitty (plural nitties)

1. (African-American Vernacular, MLE, slang) A dope fiend, a druggie.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:addict

Translations

Etymology 2

Probably from nitty(-gritty).

Adjective

nitty (comparative nittier or more nitty, superlative nittiest or most nitty)

1. (Excessively) detailed or specific; fastidious, fussy, nit-picky.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:fastidious
2. (poker slang) Of a poker player: playing in an overly cautious and reactive manner.

Translations

Etymology 3

A clipping of nitid (“bright, lustrous, shining”), or directly derived from Latin nitidus (“glittering, shining”), from nite? (“to glitter, shine; to look beautiful or bright”) (from Proto-Indo-European *ney- (“to shine”)) + idus (“suffix meaning ‘tending to’”).

Adjective

nitty (comparative more nitty, superlative most nitty)

1. (obsolete, rare) Shining; elegant, spruce.

Translations

References

Further reading

• nitty (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• tinty