caviling

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cav·il

(kăv′əl)

v. cav·iled, cav·il·ing, cav·ils also cav·illed or cav·il·ling

v.intr.

To argue or find fault over trivial matters; raise petty objections. See Synonyms at quibble.

v.tr.

To quibble about; point out petty flaws in.

A carping or trivial objection.

[French caviller, from Old French, from Latin cavillārī, to jeer, from cavilla, a jeering.]

cav′il·er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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But all the judges are alike for that, keeping a poor shirt up sometimes until midnight, listening to cursed dull lawyers, and prosy, caviling witnesses."

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Now, D'Artagnan, when he left Calais with his ten scamps, would have hesitated as little in attacking a Goliath, a Nebuchadnezzar, or a Holofernes as he would in crossing swords with a recruit or caviling with a landlady.

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Do I appear caviling in noting that in these two undertakings, as in other practice standard projects, claims payers have been more spectators than participants?