Etymology Journal · S

Split hairs

Meaning

To make petty or unnecessary distinctions that do not really matter. It is a way to tell someone they are being overly pedantic.

Impatient, critical

We agree on the main point, so there is no need to split hairs over the formatting.
Let us not split hairs about whether it was five minutes late or six.
He loves to split hairs during every meeting just to hear himself talk.

Refers to the act of literally splitting a human hair, an impossible and pointless task. It has been used to describe over-precision for centuries.

Nationwide

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