Make Your Point: HAIRSPLITTING

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pronounce HAIRSPLITTING:

HAIR split ing

connect this word to others:

As we check out the amusing word hairsplitting—a word for people who frustrate you by insisting on baby-fine differences—see if you can recall a similarly amusing word: ch____p__ing. That's a word for people who frustrate you by insisting on frugal, ultra-fine adjustments, as if they're slicing off tiny little slivers of cheese.

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

In English, since about the year 1820, we've used the phrase "to split hairs" to mean "to point out extremely small and unimportant differences or distinctions."

So, hairsplitting is the act of pointing out stupidly minor differences.

And a hairsplitting thing or person is the kind who points out stupidly minor differences.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Often a noun: "This article is nothing but hairsplitting."

And a verb: "Quit hairsplitting."

And an adjective: "I'm tired of these hairsplitting arguments."

Other forms:

You could use a hyphen, if you prefer: "hair-splitting."

how to use it:

"Hairsplitting" is funny, somewhat rare, and very easy to understand. Pick it when you want to sound exasperated.

Talk about hairsplitting people, comments, descriptions, differences, classifications, tactics, fights, claims, arguments, articles, etc.

You might specify what kind of hairsplitting is going on: legal, semantic, ethical, etc. Martin Weil called it "meteorological hairsplitting" to note that spring may be on its way out because the day didn't reach exactly 32 degrees at both airports in Washington, D. C.

examples:

"In a bit of hairsplitting worthy of a merit badge for marketing, one [cookie] is billed as 'crispy' and the other as 'crunchy.'"
— Tejal Rao, New York Times, 13 January 2017

"On the surface, the distinction between reasonableness and rationality seems like hairsplitting; Latin ratio means to reason. Nevertheless, for moral philosophers these concepts have different flavors."
— Igor Grossmann and Richard P. Eibach, Scientific American, 30 January 2020

has this page helped you understand "hairsplitting"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "hairsplitting" without saying "nitpicking" or "quibbling."

try it out:

Fill in the blanks: "(One thing) vs. (another thing that's extremely similar) just seems like hairsplitting."

Example 1: "Hydrating toners vs. clarifying toners just seems like hairsplitting. Actually, I'm not buying any toners at all."

Example 2: "My bigger issue is just how many terrier breeds there are... the smooth fox terrier and the wire fox terrier just feels like hairsplitting."
— Andrew Das, New York Times, 11 February 2020

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for August is "Degrees of Venndom."

I'll give you a pair of terms, and you decide how Venn-diagrammable they are. It's harder than it sounds! To see my suggested answer, scroll all the way down. Your response doesn't need to match mine; you should just be able to defend yours.

Try this today: At what degree of Venndom do THEFT and THIEVERY exist?

4th degree: these terms never overlap, like DOG and CAT.

3rd degree: these terms are nested, with one term always the other but not vice versa, like KITTEN and CAT.

2nd degree: these terms sometimes overlap, like PET and MAMMAL.

1st degree: these terms always overlap, like CAT and FELINE.

review this word:

1. A near opposite of HAIRSPLITTING could be

A. ACQUISITIVE: greedy, tending to hoard things.
B. EMBRACIVE: broad-minded, accepting or including many things.
C. PEJORATIVE: negative, disrespectful, or insulting in meaning.

2. Word lovers, steel yourselves: a writer for the Wall Street Journal complained about legal questions getting "engulfed in a labyrinth of hairsplitting debate." That's three metaphors all muddied together: a gulf, a labyrinth, and a _____.

A. sloppy haircut
B. single hair plucked apart
C. head of hair lifted by sheer noise

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
  36 ways to study words.
  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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