pettifog
[ pet-ee-fog, -fawg ]
/ ˈpɛt iˌfɒg, -ˌfɔg /
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, nounWORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH pettifog
ambulance chaser mouthpiece pettifogger shysterWords nearby pettifog
Example sentences from the Web for pettifogger
British Dictionary definitions for pettifogger (1 of 2)
pettifogger
/ (ˈpɛtɪˌfɒɡə) /
noun
a lawyer of inferior status who conducts unimportant cases, esp one who is unscrupulous or resorts to trickery
any person who quibbles or fusses over details
Derived forms of pettifogger
pettifoggery, nounWord Origin for pettifogger
C16: from
petty +
fogger, of uncertain origin, perhaps from
Fugger, name of a family (C15–16) of German financiers
British Dictionary definitions for pettifogger (2 of 2)
pettifog
/ (ˈpɛtɪˌfɒɡ) /
verb -fogs, -fogging or -fogged
(intr)
to be a pettifogger