Is hangnail a commonly used term?

[curiousmarcus]

Is hangnail a commonly used term? Or is it a more technical term not used by laypeople? If so, how do you refer to them? Like I hate that I always get these _____. Why do I keep on getting them anyway?

 

[Barb_D]

Yes, "hangnail" is a common word.

 

[Rover_KE]

Yes, it is.

Click here.

At our house we call it a stepmother jag, but unless you're near Blackburn, Lancashire, England, you will probably never hear that.

 

[curiousmarcus]

Yes, it is.

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Just how do you read those values? I understand how to use the graph to compare the frequency between or among words. But a graph of a single word? I don't know what to make of it, other than that its usage is on the rise or falling. But whether or not it has risen to a level where we can consider it common usage, that I cannot tell.

 

[GoesStation]

The smoothness of the curve is an indicator. An extremely rare word will have sudden jags in years where it appears once, then drop back to zero.

 

[curiousmarcus]

What do you do with hangnails? Do you cut, trim, clip, or get rid of them?

 

[Barb_D]

I tend to gnaw at mine with my teeth, which is why my nails are always a mess.

 

[curiousmarcus]

What do you call the splinter-like nail that sticks out at the lateral nail fold?