nitpickern.
/ˈnɪtˌpɪkə/, U.S. /ˈnɪtˌpɪkər/ Originally U.S.
A pedantic critic; a petty fault-finder.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > criticism > [noun] > critic > captious
plucker-atc1500
pick-fault1544
pick mote1549
trip-taker1556
mome1563
Momus1563
Zoilus1565
find-fault1567
caviller1574
carper1579
sheep-biter?1589
Zoilist1594
momist1597
word-catcher1659
knocker1898
crabber1909
kvetch1936
tearer-downer1942
nitpicker1951
kvetcher1968
1951 Collier's 24 Nov. 67/1 Two long-time Pentagon stand-bys are fly-speckers and nit-pickers. The first of these nouns refers to people whose sole occupation seems to be studying papers in the hope of finding flaws in the writing..nit-pickers are those who quarrel with trivialities of expression and meaning.
1961 Flight 80 525 Contributions have not sought to attract the jackdaws nor the ‘nitpickers’.
1988 Star (Tarrytown, N.Y.) 12 Apr. 34/3 Hollywood nitpickers may call the film ‘flawed’, but it's jealousy, pure and simple.
1998 Grocer 1 Aug. 119/2 Playing piggy in the middle to customers who take us for granted and local authority nitpickers who come down on us for stupid things.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1951