“Shoot! I've got a hangnail.”

You've been having lunch with a friend and just noticed that your finger hurts because the skin around your fingernail hurts. You say:

Shoot! I've got a hangnail.

Shoot!

This is a more polite way to say "Shit!" You say this in situations like:

• when you're annoyed
• when you've made a mistake on something
• when you've forgotten something

a hangnail

A "hangnail" is one of the following:

• a small piece of skin around your fingernail that becomes torn
• a small piece of your fingernail that becomes torn but is still attached to your fingernail.

Hangnails are painful and annoying.