Pettifog (verb)
pet-if-ogg
Quibble about petty points; to engage in legal chicanery.
Nowadays we’d call it nitpicking but I do love this archaic term for this highly irksome habit.
Example sentences
“Do you have to pettifog over every single thing?”
“He’s such a master of pettifogging that he could have the devil himself acquitted.”
Word of the Day – Tung
April 12, 2026
Word of the Day – Tung
Word of the Day - Tung (salutation) (casual) (Albanian)
Word of the Day – Torpid
April 11, 2026
Word of the Day – Torpid
Word of the Day - Torpid (adj) taw-pid
Word of the Day – Perpend
April 10, 2026
Word of the Day – Perpend
Word of the Day - Perpend (noun) pur-pend
Word of the Day – Separatist
April 9, 2026
Word of the Day – Separatist
Word of the Day - Separatist (noun) sep-era-tist
Word of the Day – Ariu
April 8, 2026
Word of the Day – Ariu
Word of the Day - Ariu (Albanian) (noun) ah-REE-oo
Word of the Day – Scow
April 7, 2026
Word of the Day – Scow
Word of the Day - Scow (noun) skou