pettifogger

/ (ˈpɛtɪˌfɒɡə) /

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See synonyms for pettifogger on Thesaurus.com

noun

a lawyer of inferior status who conducts unimportant cases, esp one who is unscrupulous or resorts to trickery

any person who quibbles or fusses over details

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

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Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

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Derived forms of pettifogger

pettifoggery, noun

Word Origin for pettifogger

C16: from petty + fogger, of uncertain origin, perhaps from Fugger, name of a family (C15–16) of German financiers

Words nearby pettifogger

petticoat breeches, petticoated, petticoat insulator, petticoat narcissus, pettifog, pettifogger, pettifogging, pettiness, petting, petting zoo, pettipants

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

How to use pettifogger in a sentence

Now, which was the best pedigree, that of the son of the pastry-cook, or that of the son of the pettifogger?
The Romany Rye|George Borrow
Thinking it well beneath me to measure words with this knavish pettifogger, I looked beyond him and spoke to his master.
The Master of Appleby|Francis Lynde
A happy thought suggested itself—one worthy of the unscrupulous theological pettifogger that he is.
Abraham Lincoln: Was He A Christian?|John B. Remsburg
Pettifogger, pet′i-fog-ėr, n. a lawyer who practises only in paltry cases.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R)|Various

Anything can be proved by two false witnesses—thinks the pettifogger.
Plays--First Series|August Strindberg