English

Noun

split hairs pl ‎(plural only)

1. (idiomatic) Tedious details; minutiae.
   • 1999, Lev Grossman, "Microsoft Tangled Up in Videotape Evidence," Time, 4 Feb.,

     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

Verb

to 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.

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

Synonyms

• cavil

Related terms

• hair-splitting
• hair-splittingly

Translations

See also

• chop logic
• nitpick