pettifog

[ pet-ee-fog, -fawg ]

verb (used without object)

, pet·ti·fogged, pet·ti·fog·ging.

1. to bicker or quibble over trifles or unimportant matters.
2. to carry on a petty, shifty, or unethical law business.
3. to practice chicanery of any sort.

pettifog

/ ˈpɛtɪˌfɒɡ /

verb

1. intr to be a pettifogger

Other Words From

• petti·fogger noun
• petti·fogger·y noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of pettifog¹

First recorded in 1605–15; back formation from pettifogger “ambulance chaser,” equivalent to petty “inferior, secondary” + fogger “shyster,” from Middle Low German voger or Middle Dutch voeger “an arranger, a fixer”; akin to Old English gefōg “a joining, a joint”; petty

Example Sentences

The popular understanding of the word criticize is to find fault, to pettifog.

From Project Gutenberg