Nearby Words

pettifogging

[pet-ee-fog-ing, -faw-ging]

pet·ti·fog·ging

[pet-ee-fog-ing, -faw-ging]
adjective
1.
insignificant; petty: pettifogging details.
2.
dishonest or unethical in insignificant matters; meanly petty.

Origin:
1570–80; see pettifog, -ing2

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Pettifogging is always a great word to know.
So is gobo. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
Dictionary.com Unabridged

pet·ti·fog

[pet-ee-fog, -fawg]
verb (used without object), -fogged, -fog·ging.
1.
to bicker or quibble over trifles or unimportant matters.
2.
to carry on a petty, shifty, or unethical law business.
3.
to practice chicanery of any sort.

Origin:
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

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

ambulance chaser, mouthpiece, pettifogger, shyster.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To pettifogging
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World English Dictionary
pettifogging (ˈpɛtɪˌfɒɡɪŋ)
 
adj
1.  petty: pettifogging details
2.  mean; quibbling: pettifogging lawyers

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