nail-paringn.adj.
/ˈneɪlˌpɛːrɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈneɪlˌpɛrɪŋ/ A. n.
1. A shaving cut from a fingernail or toenail; = nail-cutting n. 2.
ΚΠ
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. xxviii. vii. 310 Thus they prescribe with great warrantize, To take all the naile parings of toes and fingers of man, [etc.].
1854 J. D. Hooker Himalayan Jrnls. I. 131 The bones, hair, or nail-parings of a Lama.
1875 R. B. Anderson Norse Mythol. 455 A mythical ship made of nail-parings.
1942 A. Christie Body in Libr. ix. 100 Some nail parings, soiled face-cleaning tissue and bits of cotton wool stained with rouge.
1954 J. R. R. Tolkien Fellowship of Ring ii. ix. 404 Up pops a New Moon as thin as a nail-paring.
2000 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 19 Apr. 22 With the assistance of glue Tim Hawkinson makes astoundingly realistic bird embryos..out of his own nail parings and body hair.
2. The action or an act of cutting or cleaning the fingernails or toenails. Cf. nail-cutting n. 1.
ΚΠ
1871 tr. M. Monnier Wonders of Pompeii 156 The nail-paring over, there remains the dressing of the person, to be accomplished by other slaves.
1899 19th Cent. Sept. 384 [The majority of the delegates wished to cut the claws of Great Britain, but] the nail-paring operation..could not be carried out so as to annoy and injure the British Lion exclusively.
1959 Chinese Med. Jrnl. 79 484/2 Constant hand washing, changing and airing of bedsheets and clothes, and nail paring have become a habit with the people.
2000 Independent (Nexis) 2 Apr. (Features section) 47 The first tensions with Ted arise from her objections to his scratching, nose-picking and nail-paring.
B. adj.
Concerned with small things; scrupulous, precise. Cf. cheeseparing adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > care, carefulness, or attention > [adjective] > scrupulously careful or attentive to detail > characterized by scrupulous care
curious1526
scrupulous1638
elaborate1649
minutious1779
nail-paring1996
1996 Independent (Nexis) 21 Sept. (Books section) 8 There has always been a nail-paring objectivity about Muriel Spark's authorial style.
2000 Village Voice (N.Y.) (Nexis) 16 May (Books section) 75 Smith takes a nail-paring authorial voice so above the fray that her characters' internal wranglings don't seem fraught with much mortal consequence.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.1601