little fingernail

plural little fingernails · alternative little finger nail · alternative little finger-nail · alternative little-finger nail

1. The nail of the little finger.

   It took him more than a thousand tries to properly fit together the pieces—many tinier than your little fingernail—of the sky-colored jug.

   1991 October 10, “Piecing Together Shards of History”, in Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 11 Sep 2025

   2 more examples

   Every year, thousands of citizens get a criminal record for possessing dope. I was fined £5 back in 1968 for being caught with a piece of hash the size of my little fingernail.

   2016 March 11, Janet Street-Porter, “The Lib Dems should vote to legalise drugs. That would give us something to smile about – and believe in”, in The Independent, London: Independent News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 07 Mar 2022

   “For the vast majority of people, maybe a blister the size of your little fingernail is the worst thing that can happen to you,” a physicist, David Willey, said in a phone interview on Thursday.

   2022 June 17, Alex Traub, “Walking on Hot Coals: A Company Event Goes Wrong”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 17 Jun 2022

   Synonyms: little nail

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see little, fingernail.

   And I remember the way the whole movie plays through the eyes of the children. I just remember seeing their dirty little fingernails and their dirty faces and the way they're running around, playing in the courthouse.

   2002 February 1, Rick Lyman, quoting Sissy Spacek, “WATCHING MOVIES WITH/Sissy Spacek; In the Arms Of Memory”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 10 Jan 2014