pettifog
Americanverb (used without object)
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to bicker or quibble over trifles or unimportant matters.
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to carry on a petty, shifty, or unethical law business.
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to practice chicanery of any sort.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pettifog
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”; see also petty
Explanation
To pettifog is to argue over small, unimportant issues. If you and your brother pettifog over who gets to sit in the front seat when your mom offers a ride to school, you may both end up taking the bus instead. If you're looking for a colorful, old-fashioned way to say "quibble" or "squabble," pettifog is the word for you. It shares a root with petty, or "trivial," but otherwise its origin is a bit hazy. Experts see a connection to pettifactor, "legal agent who undertakes small cases." And a pettifogger, rather than a quibbler, is a sneaky lawyer, or one who "deals with petty cases."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
To pettifog is ‘to engage in legal chicanery’ or ‘to quibble over insignificant details,’” the dictionary advised.
From Washington Times ● Feb. 2, 2020
Lanny, you, with all your intellect—when you know the oath as well as I—you pettifog like that!
From The Last Shot by Frederick Palmer
From the time that Charlton began to pettifog with his conscience, he began to lose peace of mind.
From The Mystery of Metropolisville by Edward Eggleston
It wouldn't do me any good to pettifog in this matter.
From Opening a Chestnut Burr by Edward Payson Roe
When his law lies upon his hands he will afford a good pennyworth, and rather pettifog and turn common barreter than be out of employment.
From Character Writings of the 17th Century by Various
But Fom was never known to lie; she only pettifogged.
From The Madigans by Orson Lowell
The advice given yesterday with an assurance that only a settled and undoubting conviction could possibly excuse, was to-day pettifogged away mainly on the ground of Charley's worldly prosperity.
From The Faith Doctor A Story of New York by Edward Eggleston
Fancy a creature that has pettifogged, as an underling too, all his life.’
From That Stick by Charlotte Mary Yonge
In every part of Italy,—in Malta, in Savoy, in Parma, in Lucca, in Genoa,—and finally even in Spain, he had pettifogged, bullied, threatened, until his opponents had given way.
From Autobiography of Andrew Dickson White — Volume 2 by Andrew Dickson White
Truths once accepted as "self-evident," since become awkward of acceptance, were ever thus pettifogged out of the path, and fundamental principles have in this way prescriptively been tampered with.
From "Imperialism" and "The Tracks of Our Forefathers" by Charles Francis Adams
Experts were doubtful from the start of his pettifogging that he had reasonable grounds to bail out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2022
But the vast majority of our elected representatives overruled the pettifogging legalisms of Kennedy and the others.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 13, 2021
On the first day of the Trump impeachment trial, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts uttered the word "pettifogging" to illustrate a point.
From BBC ● Jan. 22, 2020
In a similar spirit, there is a rule stating that instruction creep should be avoided and that pettifogging is not welcome.
From Slate ● Jun. 22, 2014
CHICANE, the pettifogging subterfuge and delay of sharp law-practitioners, also any deliberate attempt to gain unfair advantage by petty tricks.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 2 "Chicago, University of" to "Chiton" by Various
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