petty-fogger

Noun

pettyfogger (plural pettyfoggers)

1. Someone who quibbles over trifles.
   • [page 200] This Fellow, I ſay, ſtiled himſelf a Lawyer, but was indeed a moſt vile Petty-fogger, without Senſe or Knowledge of any Kind; one of thoſe who may be termed Train-bearers to the Law; [...] [page 206] The Pettyfogger now likewiſe departed, and then Jones deſired the favour of Mrs...1749, Henry Fielding, “Jones Arrives at Gloucester, and Goes to the Bell; the Character of that House, and of a Petty-fogger, which He there Meets with”, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling...