We’ve All Met the Petty Type
Some words are just fun to say, even
if they are not fun to know. It isn’t a compliment when you’re called a …
PETTIFOGGER (petʹI fägʹɘr) n. – 1) a lawyer who handles petty
cases, esp. one who uses unethical methods in conducting trumped up cases; 2) a
trickster, cheater; 3) a quibbler, caviler. [WW #215]
Breaking down pettifogger we have “petti”
derived obviously from “petty”—irrelevant, inconsequential; and “fogger”—something that acts to obscure reality. That fairly well sums
it up!
But we don’t need to limit the word as
defining certain lawyers—pettifogger makes a dandy description for any ne’er-do-well or
as we used to say in the “good ol’ days,” one who “nickels and dimes you to
death.”
Sometimes there is a fine line between a pettifogger
and those who insist on haggling for the best price, product, or service, until exhaustion lowers the
resistance of their target, to the point of obfuscating the original offer. A pettifogger
may simply want the best deal, but it turns them into an unwitting charlatan.
If you’re writing fiction, you may
have a character in mind to which pettifogger could be aptly applied.
Writing nonfiction? It’s a great word to describe people in the real world,
too.
Word Challenge: PETTIFOGGER. Find a way in your casual
conversation to slip this fun but not always funny word into your discourse, as
you give pettifogger a standout part in your writing.
Learning knows no prejudices or boundaries, and it isn’t fattening!
Expanding your mind is a no-cost, simple joy. Do you feel that way too? What’s
your inspiration? Share your creative genius and Wordplay Wednesday comments below.
Write first for yourself … only then can you write for others. (L.Rochelle)
[LinDee Rochelle is a writer and editor by
trade, and an author by way of Rock & Roll. She has published two books (of
three) in her Blast from Your Past series about pioneering R&R Radio DJs. The true behind-the-mic
tales make GREAT Holiday Gifts available on Amazon (eBook and print): Book 1 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The First Five Years 1954-1959; and Book
2 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The Swinging Sixties. Coming soon … The Psychedelic
Seventies!]
E-N-Dzzzzzzzz
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