pettifogging
[ pet-ee-fog-ing, -faw-ging ]
/ ˈpɛt iˌfɒg ɪŋ, -ˌfɔ gɪŋ /
adjective
insignificant; petty: pettifogging details.
dishonest or unethical in insignificant matters; meanly petty.
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
niggle, bicker, wrangle, hassle, prevaricate, fence, avoid, flip-flop, spar, dispute, cavil, squabble, nitpick, carp, waffle, criticize, shift, pretend, evade, equivocate
Nearby words
- petticoat insulator,
- petticoat narcissus,
- petticoated,
- pettifog,
- pettifogger,
- pettily,
- petting,
- petting zoo,
- pettipants,
- pettish
Origin of pettifogging
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.
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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for pettifogging
pettifogging
/ (ˈpɛtɪˌfɒɡɪŋ) /
adjective
pettypettifogging details
mean; quibblingpettifogging lawyers
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
pettifogging
1570s as a verbal noun; c.1600 as a past participle adjective; see pettifogger. A verb pettifog is rare and attested only from 1640s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper