A History Of 'Pettifogging' For The Pettifoggers Among You
Chief Justice John Roberts trotted out an obscure term during impeachment proceedings yesterday; here's what it means.
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, "Pettifogging people give too much attention to small, unimportant details in a way that shows a limited mind."
On that note, let's dive in.
Petty + fogger = pettifogger
Petty means small or insignificant. A fogger is old slang for a "huckster, a cringing whining beggar."
In his in the 1905 of Florida District Judge Charles Swayne, who was impeached "... for filing false travel vouchers, improper use of private railroad cars, unlawfully imprisoning two attorneys for contempt and living outside of his district." (After nearly three months, the Senate voted to acquit.)
