Anutshell is the outer shell of anut. Most nutshells are inedible and are removed before eating the nut meat inside. It covers and protects thekernel, which may be edible.
Most nutshells are useful to some extent, depending on the circumstances.Walnut shells can be used for cleaning and polishing, as a filler indynamite, and as a paint thickening agent. Shells frompecans,almonds,Brazil nuts,acorns, and most other nuts are useful incomposting.[1] Their highporosity makes them also ideal in the production ofactivated carbon bypyrolysis. Shells can also be used as loose-fill packing material, to protect fragile items in shipping.
The expression "in a nutshell" (of a story, proof, etc.) means "inessence",metaphorically alluding to the fact that the essence of the nut – itsedible part – is contained inside its shell. The expression further gave rise to thejournalistic termnut graph, short fornutshell paragraph.
InHamlet (Act 2, Scene 2) the title character exclaims: "O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a King of infinite space".
Pliny the Elder mentioned in the encyclopedicNaturalis historia a report byCicero saying that a handwritten version of theIliad byHomer would have fit in a nut[shell]:"in nuce inclusam Iliadem Homeri carmen in membrana scriptum tradi
