pettifog
[ pet-ee-fog, -fawg ]
/ ˈpɛt iˌfɒg, -ˌfɔg /
verb (used without object), pet·ti·fogged, pet·ti·fog·ging.
to bicker or quibble over trifles or unimportant matters.
to carry on a petty, shifty, or unethical law business.
to practice chicanery of any sort.
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earnest
Origin of pettifog
1605–15; back formation from pettifogger, equivalent to petty + fogger < Middle Low German voger or Middle Dutch voeger one who arranges things; akin to Old English gefōg a joining
OTHER WORDS FROM pettifog
pet·ti·fog·ger, nounpet·ti·fog·ger·y, nounWORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH pettifog
ambulance chaser mouthpiece pettifogger shysterWords nearby pettifog
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for pettifog
The popular understanding of the word criticize is to find fault, to pettifog.
Plum Pudding|Christopher Morley
British Dictionary definitions for pettifog
pettifog
/ (ˈpɛtɪˌfɒɡ) /
verb -fogs, -fogging or -fogged
(intr) to be a pettifogger
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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