pettifog

To pettifog is ‘to engage in legal chicanery’ or ‘to quibble over insignificant details,’” the dictionary advised.

From Washington Times ● Feb. 2, 2020

When his law lies upon his hands he will afford a good pennyworth, and rather pettifog and turn common barreter than be out of employment.

From Character Writings of the 17th Century by Various

The popular understanding of the word criticize is to find fault, to pettifog.

From Plum Pudding Of Divers Ingredients, Discreetly Blended & Seasoned by Christopher Morley

From the time that Charlton began to pettifog with his conscience, he began to lose peace of mind.

From The Mystery of Metropolisville by Edward Eggleston

Lanny, you, with all your intellect—when you know the oath as well as I—you pettifog like that!

From The Last Shot by Frederick Palmer

But Fom was never known to lie; she only pettifogged.

From The Madigans by Orson Lowell

The advice given yesterday with an assurance that only a settled and undoubting conviction could possibly excuse, was to-day pettifogged away mainly on the ground of Charley's worldly prosperity.

From The Faith Doctor A Story of New York by Edward Eggleston

Fancy a creature that has pettifogged, as an underling too, all his life.’

From That Stick by Charlotte Mary Yonge

In every part of Italy,—in Malta, in Savoy, in Parma, in Lucca, in Genoa,—and finally even in Spain, he had pettifogged, bullied, threatened, until his opponents had given way.

From Autobiography of Andrew Dickson White — Volume 2 by Andrew Dickson White

Truths once accepted as "self-evident," since become awkward of acceptance, were ever thus pettifogged out of the path, and fundamental principles have in this way prescriptively been tampered with.

From "Imperialism" and "The Tracks of Our Forefathers" by Charles Francis Adams

Experts were doubtful from the start of his pettifogging that he had reasonable grounds to bail out.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2022

But the vast majority of our elected representatives overruled the pettifogging legalisms of Kennedy and the others.

From Washington Times ● Jan. 13, 2021

On the first day of the Trump impeachment trial, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts uttered the word "pettifogging" to illustrate a point.

From BBC ● Jan. 22, 2020

The result is that workers, job-seekers and public services of every kind are subject to a pettifogging, stifling regime of assessment and monitoring, designed to identify the winners and punish the losers.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 15, 2016

You took to haggling and pettifogging: far otherwise do I go to work; I want all or none.

From La Sorcière: The Witch of the Middle Ages by Jules Michelet