stickling
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stick·le
(stĭk′əl)intr.v. stick·led, stick·ling, stick·les
1. To argue or contend stubbornly, especially about trivial or petty points.
2. To have or raise objections; scruple.
[Variant of Middle English stightlen, to contend, frequentative of stighten, to arrange, from Old English stihtian, stihtan; see steigh- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
stickling
(ˈstɪklɪŋ)n
the act or practice of making insistent demands
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014