15

I know the meaning of “in a nutshell” but do not know what “nutshell” or “nut” itself stands for in this idiom.

Since it is a metaphor, I would like to know what it recalls to the speakers/listeners’ mind whose first langage is English. Etymology of the idiom would also be greatly appreciated.

cu39
  • 153
  • 1
  • 6
  • [The underlying image is that you are reducing a complicated topic to something so small it will fit in a nutshell. – StoneyB](http://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/33942/what-does-in-a-nut-shell-mean-in-this-context/34023#comment63670_33944) – Damkerng T. Dec 17 '15 at 13:07
  • Thanks! Though I skimmed that question before posting mine, I didn't notice this comment... – cu39 Dec 17 '15 at 14:07
  • You're welcome! By the way, welcome to ELL! – Damkerng T. Dec 17 '15 at 16:44
  • An example of a nutshell being used to mean a small space is Hamlet Act II, Scene 2, "I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space—were it not that I have bad dreams". – Steve Jessop Dec 18 '15 at 00:19

3 Answers3

15

I think that by definition, idioms have to be understood in their entirety; the meaning of the idiom does not necessarily correspond to the meaning of the individual words.

However, a nutshell is the shell, or outer covering, of a nut. Like this:

enter image description here

Inside a nutshell is a very small space, where you couldn't put very much. If you were trying to put an explanation inside a nutshell, it would have to be a very small one! - so "in a nutshell" means "in a very small and simple way".

stangdon
  • 38,966
  • 9
  • 65
  • 96
15

The shell of a nut tends to be small and compact, which is why "in a nutshell" is used to mean "in a few words," or, more literally, "in a compact statement."

According to Wiktionary, the etymology is as follows:

A calque of Latin in nuce.

"Calque" means "a word for word translation," and "in nuce" means "in a nut" in Latin.

Usernew
  • 3,117
  • 2
  • 17
  • 41
Jimmy S
  • 875
  • 5
  • 14
6

According to some historical rumors, Pliny the Elder wrote that Cicero once found a copy of Homer's Iliad, written in minuscule letters compressed in a nutshell. Now the Iliad isn't particularly concise or anything, but that seems to be the origin of the concept as we know it today, if not the idiom itself. Here's a likeness of Pliny (AD 23- AD 79):

enter image description here

Ricky
  • 3,088
  • 11
  • 23