Quibbling
Crossword Clue and Answers

Crossword Answers

3 letters

HIT
(baseball) a successful stroke in an athletic contest (especially in baseball); "he came all the way around on Williams' hit"

NIT
Egg or young of an insect parasitic on mammals especially a sucking louse; often attached to a hair or item of clothing

RAP
The sound made by a gentle blow

4 letters

SLAM
An aggressive remark directed at a person like a missile and intended to have a telling effect; "his parting shot was `drop dead'"; "she threw shafts of sarcasm"; "she takes a dig at me every chance she gets"

FLAK
Intense adverse criticism; "Clinton directed his fire at the Republican Party"; "the government has come under attack"; "don't give me any flak"

5 letters

CAVIL
An evasion of the point of an argument by raising irrelevant distinctions or objections

KNOCK
Knock against with force or violence; "My car bumped into the tree"

SWIPE
A sweeping stroke or blow

PETTY
Larceny of property having a value less than some amount (the amount varies by locale)

6 letters

NIGGLE
Worry unnecessarily or excessively; "don't fuss too much over the grandchildren--they are quite big now"

7 letters

QUIBBLE
An evasion of the point of an argument by raising irrelevant distinctions or objections

TRIVIAL
(informal) small and of little importance; "a fiddling sum of money"; "a footling gesture"; "our worries are lilliputian compared with those of countries that are at war"; "a little (or small) matter"; "a dispute over niggling details"; "limited to petty enterprises"; "piffling efforts"; "giving a police officer a free meal may be against the law, but it seems to be a picayune infraction"

OBLOQUY
A false accusation of an offense or a malicious misrepresentation of someone's words or actions

NAGGING
Continually complaining or faultfinding; "a shrewish wife"; "nagging parents"

HEDGING
Any technique designed to reduce or eliminate financial risk; for example, taking two positions that will offset each other if prices change

FENCING
The art or sport of fighting with swords (especially the use of foils or epees or sabres to score points under a set of rules)

EVASIVE
Deliberately vague or ambiguous; "his answers were brief, constrained and evasive"; "an evasive statement"

CYNICAL
Believing the worst of human nature and motives; having a sneering disbelief in e.g. selflessness of others

DODGING
Deliberately avoiding; keeping away from or preventing from happening

EVASING

CHICANE
The use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them)

CRIPPLE
Someone who is unable to walk normally because of an injury or disability to the legs or back

8 letters

TRIFLING
The deliberate act of delaying and playing instead of working

SHIFTING
The act of moving from one place to another; "his constant shifting disrupted the class"

PICAYUNE
(informal) small and of little importance; "a fiddling sum of money"; "a footling gesture"; "our worries are lilliputian compared with those of countries that are at war"; "a little (or small) matter"; "a dispute over niggling details"; "limited to petty enterprises"; "piffling efforts"; "giving a police officer a free meal may be against the law, but it seems to be a picayune infraction"

NIGGLING
(informal) small and of little importance; "a fiddling sum of money"; "a footling gesture"; "our worries are lilliputian compared with those of countries that are at war"; "a little (or small) matter"; "a dispute over niggling details"; "limited to petty enterprises"; "piffling efforts"; "giving a police officer a free meal may be against the law, but it seems to be a picayune infraction"

CRITICAL
Of or involving or characteristic of critics or criticism; "critical acclaim"

PEDANTIC
Marked by a narrow focus on or display of learning especially its trivial aspects

PARRYING

BOGGLING

BADPRESS

CAVILING

CAPTIOUS
Tending to find and call attention to faults; "a captious pedant"; "an excessively demanding and faultfinding tutor"

9 letters

STRICTURE
Severe criticism

SHUFFLING
Walking with a slow dragging motion without lifting your feet; "from his shambling I assumed he was very old"

PESTERING
Causing irritation or annoyance; "tapping an annoying rhythm on his glass with his fork"; "aircraft noise is particularly bothersome near the airport"; "found it galling to have to ask permission"; "an irritating delay"; "nettlesome paperwork"; "a pesky mosquito"; "swarms of pestering gnats"; "a plaguey newfangled safety catch"; "a teasing and persistent thought annoyed him"; "a vexatious child"; "it is vexing to have to admit you are wrong"

PALTERING
A trivial act of lying or being deliberately unclear

MENDACITY
The tendency to be untruthful

CRITICISM
A written evaluation of a work of literature

EXCEPTION
An instance that does not conform to a rule or generalization; "all her children were brilliant; the only exception was her last child"; "an exception tests the rule"

CHOPLOGIC

AMBIGUITY
Unclearness by virtue of having more than one meaning

BICKERING
A quarrel about petty points

CHICANERY
The use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them)

ASPERSION
The act of sprinkling water in baptism (rare)

10 letters

HOMETHRUST

BADNOTICES

SUBTERFUGE
Something intended to misrepresent the true nature of an activity; "he wasn't sick--it was just a subterfuge"; "the holding company was just a blind"

REFLECTION
The image of something as reflected by a mirror (or other reflective material); "he studied his reflection in the mirror"

NITPICKING

LEGALISTIC

11 letters

IMPUTATIONS

12 letters

SIDESTEPPING

PUSSYFOOTING

PRIGGISHNESS
Exaggerated and arrogant properness

OVERCRITICAL
Inclined to judge too severely; "hypercritical of colloquial speech"; "the overcritical teacher can discourage originality"

GOBBLEDEGOOK

FAULTFINDING
Tending to make moral judgments or judgments based on personal opinions; "a counselor tries not to be faultfinding"

EQUIVOCATORY

EQUIVOCATION
Falsification by means of vague or ambiguous language

CAPTIOUSNESS

PETTIFOGGING

PETTIFOGGERY
A quarrel about petty points

13 letters

PREVARICATION
The deliberate act of deviating from the truth

ULTRACRITICAL

LOGICCHOPPING

HYPERCRITICAL
Inclined to judge too severely; "hypercritical of colloquial speech"; "the overcritical teacher can discourage originality"

HAIRSPLITTING
Developed in excessively fine detail; "finespun distinctions"

ANIMADVERSION
Harsh criticism or disapproval

14 letters

TRICHOSCHISTIC

TERGIVERSATION
Falsification by means of vague or ambiguous language

HYPERCRITICISM

CENSORIOUSNESS

15 letters

TRICHOSCHISTISM

TAKINGEXCEPTION

REPROACHFULNESS

16 letters

OVERCRITICALNESS

HOSTILECRITICISM

ADVERSECRITICISM

17 letters

HYPERCRITICALNESS