Saturday 18 April 2015

P is for Pettifogging


For this year's A-Z Challenge I have selected a word from the dictionary for each day and written a story around it with a 100 word limit. For extra interest I have chosen words that are unknown or unfamiliar to me. All definitions are from the Oxford Dictionary & Thesaurus 2007 Edition. Today's word is: Pettifogging.

Pettifogging: Petty or trivial.


“Look, his horse’s tunic isn’t pressed properly. There’s a big crease in that lion.”

“Oh, yes?” Mabel eyed her rival scornfully. “At least I know how to buff a breastplate. Verily your husband’s armour is as dull as ditchwater.”

Deirdre fumed. It didn’t matter that her brave knight Lionel won most jousts against Edward. Mabel focussed on these pettifogging details as a defence, and dragged Deirdre down to her level.

“Aha!” said Deirdre, eyes aglow. “Another knight hath knocked your husband off his horse with his lance.”

“With no style,” said Mabel. “My Edward knows how to fall beautifully.”

29 comments:

betty said...

I don't know, Pettifogging is a mouthful to say; I can see my tongue being tied trying to introduce it into a conversation :)

betty

Tasha Duncan-Drake said...

LOL - Mabel knows how to stand by her man even when he's doing terribly ;)
Tasha
Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

Jennifer Hawes said...

Some women can be so pettifogging! I'm too busy to be petty:)

Tamara Narayan said...

"My Edward knows how to fall beautifully." That's hilarious. I can see the haughty expression on this character's face. (The impact of this line is the opposite of pettifogging.)

Keith's Ramblings said...

Now that's a nice word to say! I just love the last line of your story!I like it all of course, but especially....well, you know!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Some people can't accept defeat no matter what.

djinnia said...

I'm laughing.. Mabel killed at the end. Great story!

Sophie Duncan said...

LOLOLOL! Falling with style! I suppose there are positives in everything ;P
Sophie
Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles
FB3X
Wittegen Press

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Nick - love Pettifogging .. and your description is great .. so right - what a pain Mabel must be .. cheers Hilary

loverofwords said...

Great story, again. Before I read the definition, I try and figure out what the word might be, I cannot do it without looking.

Chrys Fey said...

Pettifogging is a neat word.

That last line by Mabel made me laugh.

Annalisa Crawford said...

I love how to set the scene at an earlier time - it really suits the word!

Shell Flower said...

HAHAHA. You really did capture pettiness with this piece. I love how it's such a different world than ours today, too.

J E Oneil said...

He knows how to fall beautifully. Okay, that made me laugh out loud.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

That was really cute. We all know someone like Mabel, don't we.

diedre Knight said...

Delightful! I reckon I'll be rooting for Lionel!

Liz A. said...

Watching the jousting match must be dreary. If that's all they have to talk about.

Anonymous said...

Well, I guess Mabel can find something positive when it comes to her husband's failures.

~Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
Member of C. Lee's Muffin Commando Squad
Story Dam
Patricia Lynne, Indie Author

A Tarkabarka Hölgy said...

Hahaha :D Fall beautifully indeed. Some people just can't be helped...

@TarkabarkaHolgy from
Multicolored Diary - Epics from A to Z
MopDog - 26 Ways to Die in Medieval Hungary

Lily Whalen said...

Easy to grasp what pettifogging means with the provided context. Thanks, Nick. A great theme for the A-Z challenge!

Doreen McGettigan said...

I love that come back line, he falls beautifully! Awesome.
I have no time for those pettifogging fools.

kjmckendry said...

I'm going to try to use pettifogging sometime this week. I like that word!

cleemckenzie said...

Finally a word I know! I was getting an inferiority complex not knowing any of the words you were posting. :-)

Tammy Theriault said...

Wow. Lee knows the word?? Geez. I'd never heard of it!

Rebecca M. Douglass said...

Love the theme and the word. I've never managed to work it into a conversation (yes, I've heard it before!), but I will try.

Glad to see you're still hanging in!
Rebecca at The Ninja Librarian

Holly Jahangiri said...

She'll probably be criticizing Edward, later, for the bloodstains on his tunic.

Julie Flanders said...

What a fun word! My tongue would probably get twisted trying to say it but I love it anyway.

Sara C. Snider said...

Pettifoggoing -- new word for me! :D Cute and fun story. I imagine Edward's hair rippling in the wind (slow motion style) as he falls beautifully. ;)

Michelle Wallace said...

Pettifogging... such a quaint word.
I love the rhythm.