quibble

quib·ble  (kwbl)

intr.v. quib·bled, quib·bling, quib·bles

1. To evade the truth or importance of an issue by raising trivial distinctions and objections.

2. To find fault or criticize for petty reasons; cavil.

n.

1. A petty distinction or an irrelevant objection.

2. Archaic A pun.

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[Probably diminutive of obsolete quib, equivocation, perhaps from Latin quibus, dative and ablative pl. of qu, who, what (from its frequent use in legal documents); see k^wo- in Indo-European roots.]

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quibbler n.

Synonyms: quibble, carp¹, cavil, niggle, nitpick, pettifog
These verbs mean to raise petty or frivolous objections or complaints: quibbling about minor details; a critic who constantly carped; caviling about the price of coffee; an editor who niggled about commas; tried to stop nitpicking all the time; pettifogging about trivialities.

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quibble [ˈkwɪb^əl]

vb (intr)

1. to make trivial objections; prevaricate

2. Archaic to play on words; pun

n

1. a trivial objection or equivocation, esp one used to avoid an issue

2. Archaic a pun

[probably from obsolete quib, perhaps from Latin quibus (from quī who, which), as used in legal documents, with reference to their obscure phraseology]

quibbler  n

quibbling  adj & n

quibblingly  adv

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	quibble - an evasion of the point of an argument by raising irrelevant distinctions or objections cavil, quiddity equivocation, evasion - a statement that is not literally false but that cleverly avoids an unpleasant truth
Verb	1.	quibble - evade the truth of a point or question by raising irrelevant objections evade, hedge, sidestep, skirt, parry, fudge, circumvent, dodge, elude, duck, put off - avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues); "He dodged the issue"; "she skirted the problem"; "They tend to evade their responsibilities"; "he evaded the questions skillfully"
	2.	quibble - argue over petty things; "Let's not quibble over pennies" bicker, brabble, pettifog, squabble, niggle argue, contend, debate, fence - have an argument about something

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quibble

verb

split hairs, carp, cavil, prevaricate, beat about the bush, equivocate Let's not quibble.

noun

objection, complaint, niggle, protest, criticism, nicety, equivocation, prevarication, cavil, sideswipe, quiddity, sophism These are minor quibbles.

Translations

quibble [ˈkwɪbl]

A. N (= trivial objection) → objeción f de poca monta
he dismissed their objections as mere quibbles → desestimó sus objeciones como si se trataran de simples nimiedades
the deal was held up by some legal quibble → se retrasó el acuerdo a causa de una pequeña objeción de carácter legal

B. VI → hacer objeciones de poca monta
he always quibbles → es un quisquilloso
to quibble over or about sth → discutir por algo sin importancia
I'm not going to quibble over 20 pence → no voy a discutir por 20 peniques
there's no point in quibbling about who's right and who's wrong → no sirve de nada discutir por quién tiene razón y quién no

quibble [ˈkwɪb^əl]

vi (= argue) → ergoter, chicaner
to quibble about sth, to quibble over sth → ergoter sur qch, chicaner sur qch
to quibble with sth (= disagree) → ne pas être d'accord avec qch

n (= complaint) → objection f

quibble

vi (= be petty-minded) → kleinlich sein (over, about wegen); (= argue with sb) → sich herumstreiten (over, about wegen); to quibble over details → auf Einzelheiten herumreiten; he quibbled about the design → er krittelte am Design herum; they weren’t arguing, just quibbling → sie diskutierten nicht, sondern stritten sich nur über Spitzfindigkeiten

n these aren’t really serious criticisms at all, just quibbles → das ist doch keine ernsthafte Kritik, das sind doch nur Spitzfindigkeiten or Haarspaltereien; I’ve got a few quibbles about her work/the design → ich habe ein paar Kleinigkeiten an ihrer Arbeit/am Design auszusetzen; I hope you don’t think this is a quibble, but … → ich hoffe, Sie halten mich nicht für kleinlich, aber …

quibble [ˈkwɪbl]

1. n → cavillo, sottigliezza

2. vi → cavillare, sottilizzare