Word Study
pettifog
WORDNET DICTIONARY
Verb pettifog has 1 sense
- pettifog(v = verb.communication) bicker, brabble, niggle, quibble, squabble - argue over petty things; "Let's not quibble over pennies" is one way to argue, contend, debate, fence
Derived forms noun pettifogger2, noun pettifoggery1
Sample sentences:
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP
CIDE DICTIONARY
pettifog, v. i. [Petty + fog to pettifog.].
To do a petty business as a lawyer; also, to do law business in a petty or tricky way. S. Butler. [1913 Webster]
pettifog, v. t.
To advocate like a pettifogger; to argue trickily; as, to pettifog a claim. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
pettifog, v.intr. (pettifogged, pettifogging)
1 practise legal deception or trickery.
2 quibble or wrangle about petty points.
1 practise legal deception or trickery.
2 quibble or wrangle about petty points.
Etymology
back-form. f. PETTIFOGGER
THESAURUS
pettifog
argue, argufy, bandy words, bicker, carp, catch at straws, cavil, choplogic, contend, contest, cross swords, cut and thrust, cut up, discept, dispute, fault-find, find fault, give and take, hassle, have it out, join issue, lock horns, logomachize, moot, nitpick, pick holes, pick to pieces, plead, polemicize, polemize, pull apart, pull to pieces, quibble, spar, take exception, take sides, tear apart, tear to pieces, thrash out, try conclusions, wrangle
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