1
as in lawyer
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2
as in quibbler
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Recent Examples of pettifogger
For nearly three years now, I’ve been fascinated by the performance art of this blustering pettifogger.
—
Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2023
Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pettifogger
Noun
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Brian is the hilariously outspoken best friend of Jason Segel’s Jimmy, and an estate lawyer who has the impeccable ability to make any situation about himself.—
Mekishana Pierre Published,
EW.com,
5 June 2025
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Trending Stories Additionally, his lawyers urged Judge Gregory Carro to allow Mangione to appear without the bulletproof vest he was required to wear at his February 21 state court appearance.—
Lorena O'Neil,
Rolling Stone,
5 June 2025
Noun
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To demonstrate that point in a video, a researcher told a robot arm to put a bunch of plastic grapes into a clear Tupperware container, then proceeded to shift three containers around on the table in an approximation of a shyster’s shell game.—
Eliza Strickland,
IEEE Spectrum,
12 Mar. 2025
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Holmes is another shyster whose story has been dissected in several documentaries and in dramatizations like Hulu’s The Dropout, but Gibney brings specific insights and a fresh perspective to this truly unbelievable story.—
Declan Gallagher,
EW.com,
31 July 2024
Noun
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The Baltimore hardcore band has always pushed back against convention — Glow On mixed everything from samba and funk with alacrity, and genre purists have often balked at their flirtations with the mainstream.—
Brenna Ehrlich,
Rolling Stone,
3 June 2025
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Key lime pie purists like my mom won’t hear of recipes with cream cheese or sour cream—an authentic Florida key lime pie should be silky and custard-like, not dense or cheesecake-y, and doesn’t require baking.—
Skye Sherman,
Southern Living,
31 May 2025
Noun
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If any inmates were denied parole because of the faulty tests, they could be owed a new hearing before the parole board, said attorneys representing inmates affected by the defective drug tests.—
Salvador Hernandez,
Los Angeles Times,
31 May 2025
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Separately, attorneys for the families of victims of the shootings at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown in 2012 filed a civil lawsuit under a different provision of the law concerning unfair trade practices.—
Christopher Keating,
Hartford Courant,
31 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pettifogger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pettifogger. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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