Quibble

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Quibble \Quib"ble\, n. [Probably fr. quib, quip, but influenced
     by quillet, or quiddity.]
     1. A shift or turn from the point in question; a trifling or
        evasive distinction; an evasion; a cavil.
        [1913 Webster]
  


              Quibbles have no place in the search after truth. --
                                                    I. Watts.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A pun; a low conceit.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Quibble \Quib"ble\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Quibbled}; p. pr. & vb.
     n. {Quibbling}.]
     1. To evade the point in question by artifice, play upon
        words, caviling, or by raising any insignificant or
        impertinent question or point; to trifle in argument or
        discourse; to equivocate.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To pun; to practice punning. --Cudworth.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Syn: To cavil; shuffle; equivocate; trifle.
          [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  quibble
       n : an evasion of the point of an argument by raising irrelevant
           distinctions or objections [syn: {quiddity}, {cavil}]
       v 1: evade the truth of a point or question by raising irrelevant
            objections
       2: argue over petty things; "Let's not quibble over pennies"
          [syn: {niggle}, {pettifog}, {bicker}, {squabble}, {brabble}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  122 Moby Thesaurus words for "quibble":
     adverse criticism, animadversion, argue, argufy, around the bush,
     aspersion, bad notices, bad press, bandy words, beat about,
     beg the question, bicker, boggle, captiousness, carp, carping,
     catch at straws, cavil, caviling, censoriousness, chicane,
     chop logic, choplogic, contend, contest, criticism, criticize,
     cross swords, cut and thrust, cut up, discept, dispute, dodge,
     equivocate, equivocation, evade, evade the issue, evasion,
     exception, fault-find, faultfinding, fence, find fault, flak,
     give and take, hair-splitting, hairsplitting, hassle, have it out,
     hedge, hit, home thrust, hostile criticism, hypercriticalness,
     hypercriticism, imputation, jesuitism, join issue, knock,
     lock horns, logomachize, moot, mystify, nagging, nicety, niggle,
     niggling, nit, nit-picking, nitpick, obloquy, obscure,
     overcriticalness, palter, paltering, parry, pestering, pettifog,
     pettifogging, pick holes, pick nits, pick to pieces, plead,
     polemicize, polemize, prevaricate, priggishness, pull apart,
     pull to pieces, pussyfoot, quibbling, quiddity, quillet, quip,
     quirk, quodlibet, rap, reflection, reproachfulness, shift, shuffle,
     shy, sidestep, slam, sophism, sophistry, spar, split hairs,
     squabble, stricture, subtlety, swipe, take exception, take sides,
     taking exception, tear apart, tear to pieces, tergiversate,
     thrash out, trichoschistism, try conclusions, wrangle
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  QUIBBLE. A slight difficulty raised without necessity or propriety; a cavil. 
       2. No justly eminent member of the bar will resort to a quibble in his 
  argument. It is contrary to his oath, which is to be true to the court as 
  well as to the client; and bad policy because by resorting to it, he will 
  lose his character as a man of probity.