pettifogger
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
For nearly three years now, I’ve been fascinated by the performance art of this blustering pettifogger.
From Los Angeles Times • May 17, 2023
“The noun pettifogger has two main senses: ‘A lawyer whose methods are petty, underhanded, or disreputable; shyster’ and ‘one given to quibbling over trifles.’
From Washington Times • Feb. 2, 2020
The verb was actually formed from the noun "pettifogger", which was used in the 16th Century to describe those who would argue over minor details in a fee.
From BBC • Jan. 22, 2020
The learned editor apparently has a greater future as a pettifogger than as an attorney.
From Time Magazine Archive
He foreclosed mortgages with pitiless promptitude, and his adroit knowledge of the law, approaching if not reaching, that of an unscrupulous pettifogger, enabled him to get the upper hand in every transaction.
From History of the Great American Fortunes, Vol. I Conditions in Settlement and Colonial Times by Gustavus, Myers
Vocabulary lists containing pettifogger
O'Reilly's Lexicon of Epithets
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True Grit
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"Old World Landowners" by Nikolai Gogol
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