little fingernail

• little finger nail, little finger-nail, little-finger nail

Blend of little finger +‎ fingernail.

little fingernail (plural little fingernails)

1. The nail of the little finger.

   Synonym: little nail

   • 1991 October 10, “Piecing Together Shards of History”, in Los Angeles Times‎^[1], Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 11 September 2025:

     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.

   • 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^[2], London: Independent News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 7 March 2022:

     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.

   • 2022 June 17, Alex Traub, “Walking on Hot Coals: A Company Event Goes Wrong”, in The New York Times‎^[3], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 17 June 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.

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see little,‎ fingernail.
   • 2002 February 1, Rick Lyman, quoting Sissy Spacek, “WATCHING MOVIES WITH/Sissy Spacek; In the Arms Of Memory”, in The New York Times‎^[4], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 10 January 2014:

     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.