pettifog

[ pet-ee-fog, -fawg ]
/ ˈpɛt iˌfɒg, -ˌfɔg /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR pettifog ON THESAURUS.COM

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

OTHER WORDS FROM pettifog

pet·ti·fog·ger, noun pet·ti·fog·ger·y, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH pettifog

ambulance chaser mouthpiece pettifogger shyster

Words nearby pettifog

petticoat, petticoat breeches, petticoat insulator, petticoat narcissus, petticoated, pettifog, pettifogger, pettifogging, petting, petting zoo, pettipants

Words related to pettifog

niggle, bicker, wrangle, hassle, prevaricate, fence, avoid, flip-flop, spar, dispute, cavil, squabble, nitpick, carp, waffle, criticize, shift, pretend, evade, equivocate

Example sentences from the Web for pettifog

  • The popular understanding of the word criticize is to find fault, to pettifog.

    Plum Pudding |Christopher Morley

British Dictionary definitions for pettifog

pettifog
/ (ˈpɛtɪˌfɒɡ) /

verb -fogs, -fogging or -fogged

(intr) to be a pettifogger