Is "grammar nazi" politically correct?

I'm not a native English speaker and I'm puzzled where the use of grammar nazi would be appropriate.

I have seen it numerous times around the SE network and was wondering when the use would be appropriate and whether it is likely that someone might get offended.

Solution 1:

For whatever reason, x Nazi is not as offensive as you'd expect in the US. There was a recurring character on Seinfeld known as the "soup Nazi" and nobody got bent out of shape.

That said, substituting the phrase "The Grammar Police" doesn't even put you at risk and may be more accurate (since the complaint is that the person is officiously interfering in the affairs of others, not that he or she is a racist genocidal maniac).

Solution 2:

As everyone else has said, the use of "X Nazi" (soup Nazi, grammar Nazi, etc.) is surprisingly common in the US. However, I once met a person who got very upset at the use of such a term, saying that it made light of the experience of anyone in the Holocaust by trivializing the use of the term Nazi. Since then, I have personally steered clear of its use. So take it for what it's worth.

Solution 3:

Any time you refer to another person as "he or she is a .." (fill in whatever) you are labeling them. It is a hostile act and you are indicating that there is something wrong with them that they can't change, rather than referring to something that they did and that you disagree with. It is a form of name-calling, what positive can come out of that?

In addition, I believe that the word itself is offensive to people of German origin. Apparently, in English-speaking countries kids are taught that "all Germans are nazis", and Germans who were born after World War II think it is not fair to be held responsible for something that happened before they were born.

If you feel that somebody is overly obsessive about grammar, why not just say that, instead of name-calling?