definitions

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.

RELATED CONTENT

Toadyism And Other Trending Words On Dictionary.comFrom lawsuits on the gridiron to scandal in the Oval Office and a jump over the pond into the land of K-pop, trending words were all over the map this week!
READ MORE

Nearby words

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

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

Related forms

pet·ti·fog·ger, nounpet·ti·fog·ger·y, noun

Can be confused

ambulance chaser mouthpiece pettifogger shyster
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pettifoggery

  • What then is pettifoggery but a way of utilizing something established without doing away with it?

    The Ego and His Own|Max Stirner

  • Poor Athenians who are accused of pettifoggery and sophistry!

    The Ego and His Own|Max Stirner

  • It was with pettifoggery and intrigues that Greek liberty ended.

    The Ego and His Own|Max Stirner

British Dictionary definitions for pettifoggery

pettifog

/ (ˈpɛtɪˌfɒɡ) /

verb -fogs, -fogging or -fogged

(intr) to be a pettifogger
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