Make Your Point > Archived Issues > QUIBBLE
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pronounce
QUIBBLE:
Say it "KWIB ull."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
Here's XKCD:
When you, too, see complaints getting more and more specific and inconsequential, call them quibbles.
Or c_v_ls. Same thing. Can you recall that synonym?
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
We're not quite sure how our word "quibble" came to be. Here's a good guess from etymologists.
In Latin, quibus means "who?" or "by what (things)?" and often appeared in legal documents, which, as you know, are often annoyingly long and complicated.
This link between annoying legal documents and the Latin quibus may have given us our English word "quib," meaning "something you say just to argue or just to poke fun at someone."
And "quib," plus the cute little suffix "-le," may have become "quibble."
In English, a quibble can be a little play on words. But most often, a quibble is a petty little complaint, often the kind that distracts people from the more important issues.
And, to quibble is to make petty little complaints.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Often a noun, the countable kind: "That's a dumb quibble;" "Please keep your quibbles to yourself."
And, often a verb, the intransitive kind: "Stop quibbling;" "They keep quibbling over it."
Other forms:
Quibbled, quibbling, quibbler(s), quibbly.
how to use it:
"Quibble" is the funny-sounding, semi-common word you need when you want to complain about complaining.
To use the verb, talk about people quibbling. Or about people quibbling about things, over things, or with other people.
To use the noun, refer to someone's comment as a quibble. They often come in unwelcome heaps: "He raised a host of quibbles;" "She smothered my paper in quibbles."
examples:
"[Carl Linnaeus], hailed as the Isaac Newton of biology... named 7,700 species of plants and 4,400 species of animals. Later biologists found much to quibble with in Linnaeus's system. For instance, he grouped hedgehogs and bats together as 'ferocious beasts', and shrews and hippos together as 'beasts of burden.'"
— Jacob Mikanowski, The Guardian, 14 December 2017
"If you don’t have a large enough skillet, a 5- or 6-quart Dutch oven will also work [to make tartiflette, a French casserole]. Just note that because of the greater depth, the cheese may not become quite as bronzed. It’s a small quibble but one worth mentioning in case you were counting on those crackling bits of brown butterfat speckling the surface."
— Melissa Clark, New York Times, 26 February 2021
has this page helped you understand "quibble"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "quibble" without saying "a petty complaint" or "a minor criticism."
try it out:
John Oliver warned about the dangers of "WhatAbout-ism," the kind of childish quibbling that changes the subject by asking "But what about ____?", often in quibble after quibble: "But what about this? What about that? What about all those?"
This kind of quibbling ignores the issue at hand, stirs up anger and defensiveness, and derails the discussion entirely. It solves nothing and resolves nothing.
Here's Oliver: "A defense attorney could not stand up in court and say, 'Maybe my client did murder those people, but I ask you this: What about Jeffrey Dahmer? What about Al Capone? What about the guy from The Silence of the Lambs? I rest my case.'"
Now, you're not a quibbler. You wouldn't quibble like this. But let's imagine how ridiculous it would be if you did.
Imagine someone at home or at work has just accused you of something you're definitely guilty of. Respond with a series of quibbles. Derail the discussion in quibble after quibble by accusing others, including your accuser, of doing other things of increasing irrelevance.
For example:
"Hey, you ate the last TWO slices of pie?!"
"Okay, but what about the first SIX slices of pie? Who ate those? What about that five-pound bag of gummy bears? Who ate that? What about that pile of crumbs around the toaster? Who left that there?"
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.
Country Song, or Springer Episode?
Be warned: this month's game is in poor taste. I had so much fun creating it, so what does that say about me? And if you're good at it, what does that say about you? Oh, snap.
Country songs and Jerry Springer episodes have something in common: their self-aware, over-the-top titles. It's clear that the creators of both enjoyed poking fun at their genre. In each round of the game this month, check out a handful of titles, and see if you can decide whether each belongs to a country song or a Jerry Springer episode. For the answers, scroll all the way down.
Try these today:
1. You're The Reason Our Kids Are So Ugly
2. You're Going To Ruin My Bad Reputation
3. You Stuck My Heart In an Old Tin Can and Shot It Off a Log
review this word:
1.
A near opposite of QUIBBLING is
A. LETTING LOOSE.
B. LETTING THINGS SLIDE.
C. LETTING THE GAMES BEGIN.
2.
Voiced by Patton Oswalt, Quibble Pants is a character on My Little Pony known for _____.
A. getting so excited about parties that he puffs up, inflates, and bursts into confetti: "It's piƱata o'clock!"
B. acting like a classic villain: "You will remain here until Daring Do comes to rescue you. And if she wants you back in one piece, she will give me the amulet! Tie them up!"
C. nitpicking: "On page 84 of Sapphire Stone, it describes her dodging a, quote, 'score of arrows shooting forth from holes in the very walls,' unquote, but then on page 107, Daring Do says she, quote, 'barely made it past the barrage of arrows,' unquote, but clearly, Daring Do is embellishing and the correct number of arrows is twenty!"
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:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
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.
Say it "KWIB ull."
Here's XKCD:
We're not quite sure how our word "quibble" came to be. Here's a good guess from etymologists.
Part of speech:
"Quibble" is the funny-sounding, semi-common word you need when you want to complain about complaining.
"[Carl Linnaeus], hailed as the Isaac Newton of biology... named 7,700 species of plants and 4,400 species of animals. Later biologists found much to quibble with in Linnaeus's system. For instance, he grouped hedgehogs and bats together as 'ferocious beasts', and shrews and hippos together as 'beasts of burden.'"
Explain the meaning of "quibble" without saying "a petty complaint" or "a minor criticism."
John Oliver warned about the dangers of "WhatAbout-ism," the kind of childish quibbling that changes the subject by asking "But what about ____?", often in quibble after quibble: "But what about this? What about that? What about all those?"
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.
1.
A near opposite of QUIBBLING is
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
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