hairsplitting

• Debates of this kind set the entire populace by the ears, and at post-office, tavern, grocery, family table, and even after the disputants had gone to bed, reasons nice, and subtleties hairsplitting were passed back and forth, until finally the party getting worsted fell back on maternal pedigrees, and epithet took the place of logic. —  Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Reformers, V9
• So long as Tamm Salven hadn't been involved in the fellow's death, Karvonen's hairsplitting wasn't important. —  THE RAVEN RING
• "[T] he whole [hearing] devolved into semantic hairsplitting reminiscent of the immortal Bill Clinton line about how something" depends on what the meaning of 'is' is. —  Chicago Indymedia
• Your stupid off-topic hairsplitting is a waste of time, as are you. —  Alex Jones' Prison Planet.com
• We're tired of listening to their legal hairsplitting over every little issue that comes up. —  Latest Articles

Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the Same Context