newbie question on nail clippers in public

[sweedetobee]

Hi,
I read a lot on the old forum(s) but never posted. Now I have a question about something that happened last night and, since this has actually happened before, I'd like to know how to react if it should happen again.

I was commuting home from work last night, late, so the subway was not at all crowded, and a woman sitting near me took out her nail clippers and started using them as we were riding along. Now my personal opinion is "That's soooo disgusting" and I think that nail clippers should only be used in the privacy of your home and really only in the bathroom. But that's me - other people may feel differently.

I really wanted to say something to this woman, such as "would you mind doing that later - it is very unhygenic to do that in a public place and I'd appreciate if you would wait until you were off the subway". But I'm chicken when it comes to saying things to strangers.

I've seen nail clippers being used on the subway before, and I've seen them being used in an office situation, which I also think is gross. So I know I will encounter it again.

So, do I have a personal phobia that I need to get over?  What is nail clipper etiquette? What is the etiquette (if any) when it comes to asking a stranger to not do something that is not necesarrily illegal, but that one finds gross or offensive?

Thanks!

[Chartreuse]

As far as I've always been taught, you keep serious matters of grooming at home, it's rude to go overboard in public.  In the case of the nail clippers, you nailed it (pardon the pun).  Who knows what's under those nails and where the shards of nail are going as you clip?  Ugh, it's like organic littering.

As far as I've always been told, clippers should be used at home or in a restroom situation if you've got a broken nail emergency.  Some things should just not be done publically, like clipping nails, doing your hair, picking your nose, or picking a wedgie...

[sweedetobee]

Organic littering. I never heard that before but it is the perfect saying and made me laugh.

[stanthedevil]

Unless it was an "emergency" situation such as she caught her nail as she removed her bag and tore it half out, I think that it is rude.  Like others have said, such personal grooming practices should be done in private.

[HogwartsAlum]

That's yucky.  Anything that leaves little pieces of someone anywhere should be avoided in public unless you are a paramedic!

[Slartibartfast]

Rude, but you can't politely comment on it.  Clipping nails doesn't bother me like it does some other people, but I agree that anything involving bits of you that you grew yourself (hair, nails, dandruff, etc) should take place at home or (only in an emergency) in a restroom, preferably when you're the only one in it.

[andi]

EWEWEWEWEWEWE!!  YUCK

cipping things off oneself should be done in the privacy of one's own home - preferably the bathroom.

If she was sitting close enough to you that there was a chance of something landing on you, i would have politely asked if she could wait to finish that at home or ask her to move in another direction. 

ok - i say i'd ask, but being the non-confrontational person that i am, i'd probably get up and move myself since it souonds like there were empty seats. 

it's still icky

[Lisbeth]

I'm with you-I think grooming yourself in public is gross and rude.  (This applies to anything beyond combing/brushing hair and putting on makeup-those are things I can live with.)

[JudiAU]

Yuck yuck yuck.

[bostonbetty]

That's gross. How can someone be comfortable doing that in public. I've never encountered anyone clipping their nails, but I want to puke when I see my coworker constantly filing her nails on the job (and we work in the food industry  ). I've told her it's not sanitary, but I can't imagine saying that to a stranger.  I think that combing hair is just as disgusting. And I think putting on make-up in public is just plain tacky.

[spaceheatersusan]

While I do agree that it is gross, you should also keep in mind that a lot of nailbiters have a compulsion with this.  I do it.  And I'm not proud of it.  But in all honesty, if I don't do it as soon as I notice they need to be trimmed, then I obsess about it and can't think about anything else until I trim them.  It's really weird.  I try to do it discreetly, and try to avoid doing it when anyone is looking, but sometimes I just can't wait til I get home or do it in an isolated place.

And I'm not saying that this excuses the fact that it's poor etiquette, but just remember that not everyone that does this is doing it because they have gross hygiene habits, a lot of them are probably inwardly cringing as much as you are.

[stanthedevil]

While I do agree that it is gross, you should also keep in mind that a lot of nailbiters have a compulsion with this. 

I didn't think about that.  When I finally started to give up nailbiting, I was constantly clipping and filing my nails.  If I didn't keep them perfect, I would chew them off again.  I've gotten over that compulsion, but it took awhile.  It's like the smoker who gives up cigarettes and instead smacks gum all day long.

There should be some kind of theory...

"Theory of Decaying Habits" - Each habit is at least slightly less repulsive than the previous habit.

[Alida]

So, do I have a personal phobia that I need to get over?  What is nail clipper etiquette? What is the etiquette (if any) when it comes to asking a stranger to not do something that is not necesarrily illegal, but that one finds gross or offensive?

No, you don't have a phobia - she had no manners! 

I wouldn't know what to do in that situation, either.  The people I've met who would groom themselves in public like that are not the kind of people I want to annoy, either.  So I move, when I can, away from them.

[CynthiaBelle]

That's DISGUSTING!!!!

Personal matters should be kept to just that----personal.

[Moogle]

Just a few minutes ago, my officemate was clipping his fingernails.  Ugh.  At least it's not his toenails.