Pettifoggings

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. A practice characterized by trivial or petty arguments, often in a legal context
2. Engaging in insignificant disputes or quibbles, typically to evade important issues
3. The act of nitpicking or focusing on minor details rather than substantial matters

Etymology: "Pettifogger" once named a petty lawyer who took on minor cases, often with shady methods. The "petty" meant small or trivial, the same sense it has in "petty cash." The "fogger" part is less certain. It may be linked to "fog" in the sense of muddying the air, but that connection is not firmly established. "Pettifog," the verb, was formed by back-formation from "pettifogger." Its present participle, "pettifogging," became an adjective for quibbling over trivia, and the idea of evading larger questions by fixing on small points grew from that legal image of confusing the issue. "Pettifoggings" is the plural of the noun "pettifogging," meaning individual acts of such quibbling.