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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Others must hire lawyers to fend off phony accusations of treason.—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
3 Aug. 2025
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In addition to contacting a divorce lawyer, please reach out to the National Domestic Violence Hotline (thehotline.org, 800-799-SAFE).—
R. Eric Thomas,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Aug. 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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Their press run has been a salvo for rap purists who miss artists talking to actual journalists, not athletes, fellow artists, or streamers who claim to be such while flouting journalistic ethics.—
Andre Gee,
Rolling Stone,
27 July 2025
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Baseball purists will love seeing the locker room, visiting the press box and peeking into the batting cage.—
DeMarco Williams,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
Noun
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Burke was terminated by the department after he was charged, his attorney, Marc Curtis, said after the start of the hearing June 23.—
Christina Hall,
Freep.com,
31 July 2025
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Grossberg's attorney, Thomas Clay, filed a motion for voluntary dismissal on July 24, six days after lawyers for the ethics commission and its members also moved to dismiss the case.—
Lucas Aulbach,
The Courier-Journal,
31 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pettifogger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pettifogger. Accessed 12 Aug. 2025.
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