pettifog
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Pettifog — Pet ti*fog, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Pettifogged}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Pettifogging}.] [Petty + fog to pettifog.] To do a petty business as a lawyer; also, to do law business in a petty or tricky way. He takes no money, but pettifogs gratis. S. Butler.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Pettifog — Pet ti*fog, v. t. To advocate like a pettifogger; to argue trickily; as, to pettifog a claim. [Colloq.] [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
pettifog — I verb beguile, bluff, cavil, circumvent, connive, deceive, dodge, dupe, ensnare, evade, fence, mislead, outmaneuver, palter, prevaricate, split hairs, trick, trifle II index cheat, circumvent Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
pettifog — pettifogger, n. pettifoggery, n. /pet ee fog , fawg /, v.i., pettifogged, pettifogging. 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.… … Universalium
pettifog — Synonyms and related words: argue, argufy, bandy words, bicker, carp, catch at straws, cavil, choplogic, contend, contest, cross swords, cut and thrust, cut up, discept, dispute, fault find, find fault, give and take, hassle, have it out, join… … Moby Thesaurus
pettifog — (Roget s Thesaurus II) verb To raise unnecessary or trivial objections: carp, cavil, niggle, nitpick, quibble. Idiom: pick to pieces. See SUPPORT … English dictionary for students
pettifog — Quibble over petty matters; legal trickery … Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors
pettifog — petɪfÉ‘g , fÉ”g / fÉ’g v. cheat, deceive; swindle, defraud … English contemporary dictionary
pettifog — verb (pettifogs, pettifogging, pettifogged) archaic 1》 quibble about petty points. 2》 practise legal deception or trickery. Derivatives pettifoggery noun Origin C17: back form. from pettifogger … English new terms dictionary
pettifog — v 1. quibble, cavil, Inf. nitpick, belabor a point, split hairs, chop logic, trifle, beg the question; bicker, bandy words, moot, sift, Inf. kick around, Sl. hash over; wrangle, altercate, jangle, quarrel, squabble, haggle, Sl. hassle, Scot.… … A Note on the Style of the synonym finder
