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):

  (file)

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
• Italian: pignolo (it) m, cavilloso (it) m, pedante (it) m, perfezionista (it) m, calia (it) m

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 (literally “look for hairs in the eggs”), 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 daan^6-2 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, literally “blow apart the hairs upon a fur to discover any defect”), 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) (literally “cut hair in four”), chercher la petite bête (fr) (literally “look for the small beast”), enculer les mouches (fr) (literally “sodomize flies”) (vulgar)
• German: Haarspalterei betreiben, Haare spalten
• Hebrew: הִתְפַּלְפֵּל (hitpalpél)
• Hindi: मीन-मेख निकालना (mīn-mekh nikālnā, literally “distinguish between ‘Pisces’ and ‘Aries’”)
• Hungarian: akadékoskodik (hu), szőrszálat hasogat, kákán is csomót keres, szőröz (hu), kukacoskodik (hu)
• Italian: spaccare il capello in quattro (literally “split the hair in four”), cercare il pelo nell'uovo (literally “look for the hair in the egg”), 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 (literally “split a hair in four”)
• Portuguese: procurar pelo em ovo (literally “look for hair in [an] egg”), procurar chifre em cabeça de cavalo (literally “look for horns on [a] horse's head”)
• Romanian: despica firul în patru (literally “split the strand [of hair] in four”)
• Russian: вдаваться в тонкости (vdavatʹsja v tonkosti)
• Spanish: hilar fino
• Swedish: hårklyveri (sv)

See also

• chop logic
• nitpick