What is meant by Pettifogging?

Asked by: Daphnee Armstrong  |  Last update: August 29, 2023
Score: 5/5 (60 votes)

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, "Pettifogging people give too much attention to small, unimportant details in a way that shows a limited mind." On that note, let's dive in. Petty + fogger = pettifogger. Petty means small or insignificant. A fogger is old slang for a "huckster, a cringing whining beggar."

What is an example of Pettifogging?

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.

What does Pettifogging mean in a sentence?

You can describe an action or situation as pettifogging when you think that unnecessary attention is being paid to unimportant, boring details. [old-fashioned, disapproval] ... pettifogging bureaucratic interference.

What is a synonym for Pettifog?

On this page you'll find 52 synonyms, antonyms, and words related to pettifog, such as: altercate, argufy, avoid, bicker, carp, and cavil.

How do you use Pettifog in a sentence?

The Telegraph) They spin the findings or pettifog the implications. ( U.S. News & World Report)

PETTIFOGGING meaning in English | Whats the Meaning of PETTIFOGGING Definition, Synonyms and use

43 related questions found

How do you use Pettifogger in a sentence?

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? Thinking it well beneath me to measure words with this knavish pettifogger, I looked beyond him and spoke to his master.

What is a Pettifogger person?

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, "Pettifogging people give too much attention to small, unimportant details in a way that shows a limited mind." On that note, let's dive in. Petty + fogger = pettifogger. Petty means small or insignificant. A fogger is old slang for a "huckster, a cringing whining beggar."

Where does the word pettifogging come from?

To "pettifog" is, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, "to quibble over insignificant details" or "engage in legal chicanery". The verb was actually formed from the noun "pettifogger", which was used in the 16th Century to describe those who would argue over minor details in a fee.

What is a Pettifogger character?

The Pettifogger is a small time conman who is shown as very calculating (the mental yes/no decision diagrams he's working from are sometimes shown). Over the year the film spans, he has brief affairs, some of them sort-of-sincere, some of them grifts.

What is a Wozzy?

woozy. adjective. woo·​zy ˈwü-zē woozier; wooziest. : slightly dizzy, nauseous, or weak.

What type of word is pallid?

adjective. The movie is a pallid version of the classic novel.

What is a synonym for Pettifoggery?

a quarrel about petty points. synonyms: bicker, bickering, fuss, spat, squabble, tiff. type of: dustup, quarrel, row, run-in, words, wrangle.

What is the word for a bad lawyer?

Shyster /ˈʃaɪstər/ (also spelled schiester, scheister, shiester, etc.) is a slang word for someone who acts in a disreputable, unethical, or unscrupulous way, especially in the practice of law, sometimes also politics or economics.

What is a wizzy boy?

: a person who is unusually intelligent, clever, or successful especially at an early age.

Who invented the word Snollygoster?

The origin of snollygoster is unknown. It may come from German schnelle geister (“quick spirit”), writes Ostler, “but extravagant nonsense words such as lollapalooza and splendiferous were popular during the nineteenth century.

When was the word Snollygoster invented?

Snollygoster “a clever, unscrupulous person,” is an American slang term that first appears in print in 1845 in Marion County, Indiana. As with many, if not most slang terms, there is no reliable etymology for the word.

What is another word for dirty lawyer?

On this page you'll find 9 synonyms, antonyms, and words related to unethical lawyer, such as: cheater, chiseler, mouthpiece, pettifogger, scammer, and trickster.

When someone does something petty?

mean or ungenerous in small or trifling things: a petty person. showing or caused by meanness of spirit: a petty revenge. of secondary rank, especially in relation to others of the same class or kind: petty states; a petty tyrant.

What is a sentence with the word flibbertigibbet in it?

And she has no time at all for today's flibbertigibbet stars who mime on stage during live or television performances. At the same time he persisted in regarding her as 'a literary flibbertigibbet', despite strong evidence to the contrary.

What is a nickname for a crooked lawyer?

A sneaky, underhanded lawyer is a pettifogger. If your neighbor hires an unscrupulous quack to sue you, you might call his attorney a pettifogger.

What is a shark lawyer slang?

The idea of the shark lawyer stems from the idea that lawyers are brutal, ruthless killers, willing to drag someone down whenever they smell blood in the water.

What is a lawyer fancy word?

Synonyms of lawyer
  • attorney.
  • counsellor.
  • advocate.
  • counselor.
  • solicitor.
  • counsel.
  • prosecutor.
  • jurist.