pettifogging

[ pet-ee-fog-ing, -faw-ging ]

adjective

1. insignificant; petty:

   pettifogging details.

2. dishonest or unethical in insignificant matters; meanly petty.

pettifogging

/ ˈpɛtɪˌfɒɡɪŋ /

adjective

1. petty

   pettifogging details

2. mean; quibbling

   pettifogging lawyers

Word History and Origins

Origin of pettifogging¹

First recorded in 1570–80; pettifog, -ing ²

Example Sentences

Experts were doubtful from the start of his pettifogging that he had reasonable grounds to bail out.

From Los Angeles Times

The Economist described his viewpoint succinctly: “He paints stewards of fair play — regulators and boards — as pettifogging enemies of progress,” wrote its pseudonymous business columnist “Schumpeter.”

From Los Angeles Times

The virtue of this concept is that it divorces essential protections from pettifogging debates over the definition of “employee.”

From Los Angeles Times

Last month, President Biden’s Education Department released 13 pages of pettifogging rules patently written to discourage and impede charter schools from accessing a $440 million federal program of support for charters.

From Washington Post

Mr. Johnson’s allies accuse the European Union of inflexibility in applying rules, a pettifogging lack of sensitivity to feelings in parts of Northern Ireland and vengeful hostility toward Britain for exiting the bloc.

From New York Times

Related Words

• frivolous
• lesser
• minor
• narrow-minded