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What is 'niggling'? US Vogue says Daily Mail was 'racist' in Meghan Markle article, Internet says 'it's absurd'

As per the Oxford dictionary, ‘niggling’ as an adjective is 'used to describe a slight feeling of worry or pain that does not go away' or 'not important'

US Vogue has been called “absurd” after it accused The Daily Mail of racism for using the word “Niggling” in the headline of a Meghan Markle article. In 2017, the British daily middle-market newspaper used the phrase “a niggling worry” alongside Prince Harry and Meghan's engagement photo, which American Vogue found racist. The phrase was reportedly used as a signpost to an inside piece by Sarah Vine.

As per the Oxford dictionary, ‘niggling’ as an adjective is “used to describe a slight feeling of worry or pain that does not go away” or “not important”. It also means “to gnaw at”. But long-standing Vogue writer Hamish Bowles did not agree with this as in the latest issue of the magazine, the 57-year-old wrote, “In 2017, the Daily Mail, featuring Harry and Meghan's touching engagement picture on the front page, saw fit to run the headline from their columnist Sarah Vine: 'Yes, they're joyfully in love. 'So why do I have a niggling worry about this engagement picture?' Webster's defines the word niggling thus: 'bothersome or persistent especially in a petty or tiresome way'.

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“Nevertheless, the word seemed a surprising choice and jumped from the page, as presumably it was intended to,” he added. But Toby Young, general secretary of the Free Speech Union, slammed the allegations as he said, “It's a bit like claiming that a newspaper is racist because the ink it uses on its pages is black. It's just silly and absurd.” The Daily Mail also claimed that the word is so common that major publications, like The Times, has used it 3,687 times, The Guardian used it  2,268 times, and it appeared in their own paper 2,037 times. It went on to say that even the US Vogue has used the word eight times.

The Internet also expressed their thoughts over the whole fiasco as one user tweeted, “The absurb thing is that the author gave a dictionary definition in his piece. Then made an implication about how it might be interpreted by the reader in complete contradiction. Vogue: 'Dictionaries lie folks!' Where are we if journalists can't take words in their true meaning?” The second user commented, “I have no niggling doubt on this -utter balderdash, with no apologies to balls…” 

A user wrote, “Vogue obviously isnt the esteem publication it thinks it is if it doesnt even know the English language #Vogue.” Another person stated, “Niggling, Niggling, Niggling, Niggling, Niggles, Niggler, Niggerling, Niggling, Niggling @voguemagazine @DailyMailUK.” The third one added: “We should not be so niggardly with our language.”

This came amid Meghan and Harry’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey stirred a lot of controversies. During the interview, the Sussexes accused the Royal family of racism. The former actress said, "There were several conversations with Harry" on the matter of Archie's skin color. "In the months when I was pregnant, all around the same time, so we have in tandem the conversation of he won't be given security, he's not going to be given a title, and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born," she added.