| 释义 |
pettifoggery|ˈpɛtɪˌfɒgərɪ|
[f. prec. + -y.]
Pettifogging practice; legal chicanery.
1653Milton Hirelings 62 The last and lowest sort of thir arguments, that men purchas'd not thir tithe with thir land, and such like pettifoggerie, I omitt. a1693Urquhart's Rabelais iii. xxxvi. 306 Under-hand tricky..Cavilling, Petti⁓foggery. 1871Athenæum 28 Jan. 83 Code-making..is going on with vigour in South America: and this is not surprising, for the Spaniards left them a legacy of miscellaneous pettifoggery. |