split hairs

English

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Noun

split hairs pl (plural only)

1. (idiomatic) Tedious details; minutiae.
   • 1999 February 4, Lev Grossman, “Microsoft Tangled Up in Videotape Evidence”, in Time:

     The Microsoft trial had been in danger of slipping out of the public eye. Its endless procession of less-than-riveting economics professors and forgetful executives, mixed with scads of legal and technical split hairs, just hasn't made for gripping headlines.

Translations

tedious details

Finnish: hiustenhalkominen, pilkunviilaus (fi) German: Haarspalterei (de) f Icelandic: hártogun f Irish: míníneacht f Italian: pignolo (it) m, cavilloso (it) m, pedante (it) m, perfezionista (it) m, calia (it) m Swedish: hårklyveri (sv) n

Verb

split hairs (third-person singular simple present splits hairs, present participle splitting hairs, simple past and past participle split hairs)

1. (idiomatic) To consider or argue about fine details; to worry about minutiae.

   Synonym: cavil

   Let's get everything sorted into the right drawers and not split hairs about subdividing it further yet.

Related terms

• hair-splitting
• hair-splittingly

Translations

to consider fine details

Breton: spazhañ laou (br) Catalan: trobar pèls als ous, trobar pèls en tot, filar prim (ca), primfilar (ca) Chinese: Cantonese: 雞蛋裡挑骨頭 / 鸡蛋里挑骨头, 雞蛋裏挑骨頭 / 鸡蛋里挑骨头 (gai1 daan6-2 leoi5 tiu1 gwat1 tau4, gai1 daan6 leoi5 tiu1 gwat1 tau4), 吹毛求疵 (ceoi1 mou4 kau4 ci1), 指指點點 / 指指点点 (zi2 zi2 dim2 dim2), 找碴 (zaau2 zaa1), 找岔子 (zaau2 caa3 zi2) Hokkien: 指指鑿鑿 / 指指凿凿 (kí-kí-chha̍k-chha̍k), 揣空揣縫 / 揣空揣缝 (chhē-khang-chhē-phāng / chhēr-khang-chhēr-phāng / chhōe-khang-chhōe-phāng) Mandarin: 吹毛求疵 (zh) (chuīmáoqiúcī), 雞蛋裡挑骨頭 / 鸡蛋里挑骨头 (zh), 雞蛋裏挑骨頭 / 鸡蛋里挑骨头 (zh) (jīdàn li tiāo gǔtou, jīdàn lǐ tiāo gútou), 指指點點 / 指指点点 (zh) (zhǐzhǐdiǎndiǎn), 錙銖必較 / 锱铢必较 (zh) (zī zhū bìjiào) Dutch: haarkloven (nl), muggenziften (nl) Finnish: halkoa hiuksia (fi) French: couper les cheveux en quatre (fr), chercher la petite bête (fr), enculer les mouches (fr) (vulgar) German: Haare spalten, Haarspalterei (de) Hebrew: הִתְפַּלְפֵּל (hitpalpél) Hindi: मीन-मेख निकालना (mīn-mekh nikālnā) Hungarian: akadékoskodik (hu), szőrszálat hasogat, kákán is csomót keres, kukacoskodik (hu) Italian: spaccare il capello in quattro, cercare il pelo nell'uovo, pignolare, fiscalizzare (it), cavillare (it) Japanese: 枝葉末節にとらわれる (しようまっせつにとらわれる, shiyōmassetsu ni torawareru), 重箱の隅を楊枝でほじくる (じゅうばこのすみをようじでほじくる, jūbako no sumi o yōji de hojikuru), 難癖を付ける (ja) (なんくせをつける, nankuse o tsukeru) Polish: dzielić włos na czworo (pl) impf Portuguese: procurar pelo em ovo, procurar chifre em cabeça de cavalo Romanian: despica firul în patru Russian: вдаваться в тонкости (vdavatʹsja v tonkosti) Spanish: hilar fino (es), hilar delgado (es), buscarle tres pies al gato, buscarle el pelo al huevo, rizar el rizo, sacarle la raíz cuadrada Swedish: hårklyveri (sv) Welsh: hollti blew

See also

• chop logic
• nitpick