pettifog
Argue trivial points
To pettifog is to quibble over trivial matters or engage in petty, underhanded legal practices.
The word originally described disreputable lawyers who handled minor cases through trickery rather than merit.
Now it applies more broadly to anyone who bickers about insignificant details or argues in bad faith: Stop pettifogging and address the real issue.
Unscrupulous professional, especially legal
- barristerUK courtroom advocate
- solicitorDocument-drafting legal professional
- litigationLegal dispute process
- courtroomJudicial proceedings chamber
lawsuit · plaintiff · defendant · trial · subpoena · attorney · jurisprudence · litigious
Deception through clever manipulation
- sophistryDeceptive reasoning
- subterfugeDeliberate deception to conceal
- dissembleConceal one's motives
- prevaricateSpeak misleadingly to deceive
mislead · equivocate · duplicity · disingenuous · evasion · double-talk · weasel words · obfuscation
Find petty faults
- hair-splittingExcessive focus on trivialities
- minutiaePetty precise particulars
- picayuneOf trivial importance
- triflingOf no real importance
niggling · cavil · technicality · pedantry · fussiness · captious · trivialize · splitting hairs
Enclosed compartment or delay
- delayEnforced waiting period
- filibusterDelaying tactic through speech
- impedeTo obstruct movement
- hinderObstruct or delay
hamper · procrastinate · forestall · stonewalling · red tape · bureaucracy · foot-dragging · runaround
shyster
Unscrupulous professional, especially legal
- barristerUK courtroom advocate
- solicitorDocument-drafting legal professional
- litigationLegal dispute process
courtroom · lawsuit · plaintiff · defendant · trial · subpoena · attorney · jurisprudence · litigious · malpractice
chicanery
Deception through clever manipulation
- sophistryDeceptive reasoning
- subterfugeDeliberate deception to conceal
- dissembleConceal one's motives
prevaricate · mislead · equivocate · duplicity · disingenuous · evasion · double-talk · weasel words · obfuscation · misdirection
nitpick
Find petty faults
- hair-splittingExcessive focus on trivialities
- minutiaePetty precise particulars
- picayuneOf trivial importance
trifling · niggling · cavil · technicality · pedantry · fussiness · captious · trivialize · splitting hairs · fine print
stall
Enclosed compartment or delay
- delayEnforced waiting period
- filibusterDelaying tactic through speech
- impedeTo obstruct movement
hinder · hamper · procrastinate · forestall · stonewalling · red tape · bureaucracy · foot-dragging · runaround · holdups