hair-splitting

hair-splitting
hair-splitting "making over-nice distinctions," by 1739, from HAIR (Cf. hair) + SPLIT (Cf. split). To split hairs "make over-fine distinctions" is first recorded 1650s, as to cut the hair. Hair also being 18c. slang for "female pudendum," hair-splitter was noted in 1811 as slang for "penis."

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • hair-splitting — n [U] when people pay too much attention to small differences and unimportant details, especially in an argument →split hairs at ↑split1 (8) …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • hair-splitting — ► NOUN ▪ the making of overfine distinctions …   English terms dictionary

  • hair-splitting — noun the act of finding exceedingly small differences which are probably neither important nor noticeable to most people. Dicks Tribune poked endless fun at the hair splitting sectarianism of the various Trotskyist groups jostling on the fringes… …   Wiktionary

  • hair-splitting — split hairs to argue about whether details that are not important are exactly correct. I don t have very much patience with all this legal hair splitting …   New idioms dictionary

  • hair-splitting — hair split|ting [ her ,splıtıŋ ] noun uncount the activity of arguing about unimportant details or differences …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • hair-splitting — noun the action of making overfine distinctions. Derivatives hair splitter noun …   English new terms dictionary

  • hair-splitting — (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) n. quibbling, nitpicking. See dissent …   English dictionary for students

  • hair splitting — make very fine distinctions …   English contemporary dictionary

  • hair-splitting — noun (U) the act of paying too much attention to small differences and unimportant details, especially in an argument see also: split hairs split 1 (7) …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • hair-splitting — UK / US noun [uncountable] the activity of arguing about unimportant details or differences …   English dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”