'Too pernickety about hygiene'?

[Mehrgan]

Hi there,
Could anyone please tell me if there's any word describing such a person?


Thanks!

 

[billmcd]

Hi there,
Could anyone please tell me if there's any word describing such a person?


Thanks!

Fussy, fastidious, particular.

 

[SoothingDave]

It's "persnickety."

Persnickety | Define Persnickety at Dictionary.com

 

[BobK]

Fussy, fastidious, particular.

:up: Or over-careful. That sort of person is likely to be a hypochondriac (though it doesn't mean the same).

b

 

[Mehrgan]

:up: Or over-careful. That sort of person is likely to be a hypochondriac (though it doesn't mean the same).

b

Is there any British informal word for this?

Thank you so much!

 

[Mehrgan]

It's "persnickety."

Persnickety | Define Persnickety at Dictionary.com

Aren't both spelling right? (I suppose 'persnickety' is more excepted in AmE.)

Thanks dear!

 

[5jj]

Aren't both spelling right? (I suppose 'persnickety' is more excepted in AmE.)

I use pernickety. The ALD notes that this is BrE, persnickety is AmE

 

[SoothingDave]

I use pernickety. The ALD notes that this is BrE, persnickety is AmE

I didn't realize there was a difference. I thought it was a typo.

 

[5jj]

I didn't realize there was a difference. I thought it was a typo.

I didn't, until I read your post.

 

[Raymott]

Hi there,
Could anyone please tell me if there's any word describing such a person?


Thanks!

Hygiene freak; Clean freak; Germ phobic.
Note that words like fussy, overcareful, etc. don't give any hint that you're talking about hygeine.

 

[emsr2d2]

A person with an actual mental health issue which makes them extremely careful about hygiene might be suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) but to say that someone has OCD does not necessarily mean that it's to do with hygiene, that's just one possible symptom.

I like "clean freak" or "germ phobic".

I had never heard of "persnickety" until this thread. In BrE it's certainly "pernickety".

 

[arzgol]

How about ''obsessive''. He is obsessive about cleanliness. I think ''obsessive'' is more common than pernickety.

 

[birdeen's call]

I like "clean freak" or "germ phobic".

I've seen the word "germaphobic" used.

 

[arzgol]

Oops, I didn't read the comment of emsr2d. He is completely right.

 

[billmcd]

It's "persnickety."

Persnickety | Define Persnickety at Dictionary.com

Webster's lists "pernickety" also.

 

[BobK]

Just remembered - a person like that (especially a man) is often called an 'old woman'.

Example:

'I can't hold the rail - it's dirty.'
'Don't be such an old woman.'

b

 

[5jj]

Just remembered - a person like that (especially a man) is often called an 'old woman'.

But, like some of the other suggestions, it is not restricted to hygiene.

'I can't go to chuch without a tie.'
'Don't be such an old woman'.

 

[BobK]

But, like some of the other suggestions, it is not restricted to hygiene.

'I can't go to chuch without a tie.'
'Don't be such an old woman'.

Yes. For hypochondria too: 'Mr Wodehouse was a bit of an old woman' - that's me talking, you understand, not Jane Austen (for whom, I think, he was a valetudinarian. ;-))

b