Pettifog
['pɛtɪfɔɡ]
Definition
(v. i.) To do a petty business as a lawyer; also, to do law business in a petty or tricky way.
(v. t.) To advocate like a pettifogger; to argue trickily; as, to pettifog a claim.
Edited by Hamilton
Examples
- Rascally, pettifogging robbers! Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- You are,' continued Mr. Pickwick, resuming the thread of his discourse- -'you are a well-matched pair of mean, rascally, pettifogging robbers. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- It is all summed up in that,' rejoined Mr. Pickwick; 'they are mean, rascally, pettifogging robbers. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- The pettifogging objections to some social plan had very little chance of survival owing to the dynamic power of the reformers. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
Checked by Gardner