pettifogging

adjective

pet·​ti·​fog·​ging

1

: having the characteristics of a pettifogger : marked by pettifoggery

this curious combination of the masterfulness of the man of action with the pettifogging lawyer's mind

—G. G. Coulton

2

: having little or no significance or importance : petty, trivial

all the complex pettifogging little quirks of doctrine

—A. J. Cronin

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