ONE long fingernail

smk135

completely random question:

to all you lads out there, why would ANY lad have normal fingers, normal nails, but then let ONE FINGERNAIL grow exceedingly long?(a part from the "guitar players")

I don't know why, but I find that so disgusting. I am probably wring to be so repulsed by it but I cant help it...

i think i find that even more off putting than dirty nails...

anyone else find it horrible? anyone knw what the story is with it???

agentrache

That's disgusting...I would be so repulsed by that! Don't think I've ever seen a guy with that though..

Silverfish

It is apparently to enable them to carry out some....personal hygiene procedures...er......

WellyJ

Eh....

Who does this?

I've never seen that

theTinker

obviously he uses it as an emergency screwdriver, perhaps hes an expert back scratcher?

honestly though i couldnt fathom wat it could be for, It would defintely look gross. If i seen it myself i would assume sum wierd mental thing unless i seen him in a guitar shop lol.

Dirty fingernails though are worst(sorry ) green yucky tips make me want to puke.

bobbyjoe

For snorting coke off?
Thats what Harvey Keitels character had one for in taxi driver.

Rhyme

http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/c/casanova.htm

Use it as a weapon.

Myself, i have a thing about fingernails (eyes too, but thats beside the point)... cant stand long fingernails for the fear that they'd come off *Shudders*

Creamy Goodness

even for a guitar player having one long fingernail is odd, we normally keep them all the same length or just tape five picks to our fingers

Ruu_Old

What about the chap that has the world record for the longest fingernails? They just look teh mank. Poor wifey has to clean and file them for him all the time.

Beruthiel

bobbyjoe wrote:

For snorting coke off?
Thats what Harvey Keitels character had one for in taxi driver.

Yup
That's what I thought when I read the question.

smk135

well at least im not the only one who finds it gross.

i have seen it sooooo often and it puts me off every time.

but yeah i supose dirty nails are worse.

what about dirty nails with ONE long DIRTY nail as well???:eek:

iFight

Ruu wrote:

What about the chap that has the world record for the longest fingernails? They just look teh mank. Poor wifey has to clean and file them for him all the time.

They look hilarious. Good owl book of records.

But anyway, Ive never seen anyone with just one long nail.

agentrache

Eeew dirty nails are bad enough on their own!

Gordon

I've got a mate that has one long thumbnail. I think he said that he likes it when I asked him.

agentrache

...Well each to their own I guess!

Strokesfan

Yuck Yuck Yuck - poor personal hygiene if Irish lads have one long fingernail - mank

JPA

I knew a Chinese guy who had it.

This explains it.

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/060428.html

Caco

A friend of mine has a long nail on his pinky! He plays guitar but I dont think thats why he has it as I think it's on his left hand (he's a right handed guitarist and uses left hand for chords etc.) I think he just has it for the craic
Also a guy i worked with had a long nail on his thumb
I don't really like the look of it either but èach to their own as agentrache said!

smk135

CACO? you never thought to ask them what posessed them to grow a skakny long fingernail???!!!!

bluto63

I can sort of see it why guitarists have it. But I was never a fan of using my nail, I much prefer using a pick
Or 5 taped to my fingers as Cremo said

thehomeofDob

I've got all the nails on my right hand long, and my left thumbnail slightly long. The left is just to clean the right hand ones :-P It's great for when there's no nail brush around

Oh yeah, guitarist :P

Terry

anything like this?

bluto63

julep wrote:

anything like this?

I want that!

Karl Hungus

Although I find it odd, even for guitarists (I'm a guitarist, and I keep 'em short), I don't get people here who are saying it's skanky and gross...

It's not as if fingernails are hard to keep clean. Sure all you need is one of those nail scrubbing brushes. So what's with all the revulsion?

monkeyfudge

I tend to keep my tumb nails long. They come in handy as I hate not being able to tear into things with blunt fingernails... Also handy for getting into tight gaps as well.

They're not really long though.. maybe just under a centimetre.

smk135

Karl Hungus wrote:

Although I find it odd, even for guitarists (I'm a guitarist, and I keep 'em short), I don't get people here who are saying it's skanky and gross...

It's not as if fingernails are hard to keep clean. Sure all you need is one of those nail scrubbing brushes. So what's with all the revulsion?

do you know, im not sure why i find it so gross but i think it may have to do wit hthe fact that there are so many freakin germs under your fingernails and long ones are even worse obviously.
so, ONE SINGLE long nail prob symbolises as previously stated someone using it for (un)hygenic reasons.... it's just weird as well.

biko

Just plain revolting.
And ghey.

Giruilla

I always let one nail grown longer than the others! It comes in handy when your dyin for a scratch but all your nils are too short to be effective. Good for opening cans too!:)

arbeitsscheuer

monkeyfudge wrote:

I tend to keep my tumb nails long. They come in handy as I hate not being able to tear into things with blunt fingernails... Also handy for getting into tight gaps as well.

They're not really long though.. maybe just under a centimetre.

Likewise. Although I must say in my case it's never been conscious or intentional really, I just don't tend to bite my nails but all the rest break. Generally my thumbnails just last longer I spose. *shrugs*

And it's certainly not unhygienic - any germs which can, will lodge themselves under even the shortest nails. In fact, longer ones seem to be easier to keep clean. That's just my take on it anyways.

5starpool

I know a good few Chinese that do this. I have always wondered, never asked, just assumed it was some sort of cultural thnig. I hate having long fingernails, have to cut them every week or 10 days at the most.

smk135

yeah...even that explanation of gerems getting everywhere i still just find it gross. sorry.

Jamey

Aren't they called PIMP NAILS?

Setun

smk135 wrote:

completely random question:

to all you lads out there, why would ANY lad have normal fingers, normal nails, but then let ONE FINGERNAIL grow exceedingly long?(a part from the "guitar players")

I don't know why, but I find that so disgusting. I am probably wring to be so repulsed by it but I cant help it...

i think i find that even more off putting than dirty nails...

anyone else find it horrible? anyone knw what the story is with it???

What in the name of yahweh provoked you to start this thread?

"As a child I was poked with a large dirty fingernail for hours on end, and I think it's affected me psychologically"
:rolleyes:

Terry

5starpool wrote:

I know a good few Chinese that do this. I have always wondered, never asked, just assumed it was some sort of cultural thnig. I hate having long fingernails, have to cut them every week or 10 days at the most.

now that you mention it, i knew a couple of vietnamese guys who also had really long finger nails.
maybe it's an asian thing.

any asian people here know of this and wish to enlighten us, or is it just a coincidence?

EDIT. according to wikipedia it's not a coincidence.

wikipedia wrote:

In some Asian cultures men may also grow long fingernails, or only the nail on the little finger, to show that they do not do much manual labor, but instead work in an office setting. However, this practice is gradually becoming unpopular and unrefined because a long fingernail on the little finger is associated with nose picking.

Blisterman

A chinese guy working in my school cafeteria had this, and rumour was that it was because he was a cokehead.
But after reading that, I suppose we were probably wrong.

Terry

the guys i knew were definitely not coke heads. they didn't even drink when we first met them. after working with them for a while though, we turned one of them into a piss head. he loved his guinness, or "Ginnit" as he called it.

smk135

hahaha can't beleive there's actually a logical explanation for it! well for the CHinese anyway...

to answer Dadio's question, I saw a guy on the DART with one and every time i see it i'm repulsed and curious tyo know why the hell???!!!

and also i was bored.

Lux23

In China middle class men will sometimes grow their pinkie to show to the world that they don't have to do manual work. Some men who don't work at all will have grown all their nails quite long. They also use it to pick their nose. :eek:

Terry

Lux23 wrote:

In China middle class men will sometimes grow their pinkie to show to the world that they don't have to do manual work. Some men who don't work at all will have grown all their nails quite long. They also use it to pick their nose. :eek:

i don't believe you. i demand a link.

Lust4Life

Posted by Lux23
In China middle class men will sometimes grow their pinkie to show to the world that they don't have to do manual work. Some men who don't work at all will have grown all their nails quite long. They also use it to pick their nose.

Woah! Does that mean I'm a slacker? 10 very long nails on my hands. But I'm a gal so I can do that. Type with my nails too!:cool:

Diarmsquid

I always like to keep one long. Not too long, like 1/4 cm above the rest. Useful for scratchin itches. I hate when you cut them all and you try to scratch, but you're just rubbing your fingertips off it. Iritating.
And I'm a guitarist, but I don't see what it has to do with it.

il gatto

I work with a guy who had one. He might still have it. My fascination has dwindled in the past year. I never asked him why. It's a thumbnail. I'm fairly sure he doesn't use cocaine, and definately not enough to warrent a gross fingernail for convienance.
I play the guitar and keep all my fingernails very short. I cut them every week or two. Some folk guitarists who use finger picking, grow the fingernails of they're picking hand long, or some of them. There is no reason for them on your fretting hand. They'd be a major hindrance.

R0ot

I bite my nails so ive never had the chance to have long nails, my bro has a long nail but thats for playing guitar afaik

il gatto

Yeah. That's what it's for

lau1247

I use mine as stapler remover and scratching
But mine is not too long though..

From the earlier post,
What wrong with a guy having a little bit of nail though?

BrokenArrows

there was a guy at a casino i used to frequent that had his pinky about an inch long. He kept tapping it off his chips. Kinda creepy guy.

smk135

i think it really funny how many people are interested by a "one long fingernail" thread.
im the OP by the way so im not judging.

Navaa

I came across this thread quite by accident, so I registered just to shed some light on this question, as I myself am a long index-finger-nailed dude.

The index finger nail is used to play the setar (pronounced seh-taar). Setar is a Persian instrument from the lute family, not to be confused with the Indian sitar. You can't use a pick to play it because it just doesn't work like that. In the video below you can see how the instrument is played and why it's impossible to play it using a pick - you can try playing it with a pick, but it will sound very crude and not at all like it's meant to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9t1kTOt0iOc

The Master

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