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A.Word.A.Day--pettifogger

pettifogger (PET-ee-foguhr, -fo-guhr) noun

1. A petty, quibbling, unscrupulous lawyer.

2. One who quibbles over trivia.

[Probably petty + obsolete fogger, pettifogger.]

"The nitpickers, the whiners, the pettifoggers are everywhere. And they are so numerous and so noisy that they threaten to block our view of and drown out the clarion call of the squirrels." Bill Kraus, Without Health Care Reform, Forget It, Capital Times, 15 Dec 1993.

This week's theme: words to describe people.

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