nitpicking
細かいことを言う
解説 Definition
細かい欠点や誤りを指摘する、または重要でない事柄にこだわる傾向。重箱の隅をつつくような行為。
Nitpicking is the habit of focusing too much on very small mistakes or unimportant details. It is often used when someone is being overly critical in discussions, work, or daily life. The word usually has a negative meaning because it suggests unnecessary criticism.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
nitpicking は、まず動詞 nitpick「細かいことにいちいち口を出す」の名詞形として覚えると整理しやすいです。会話では stop nitpicking, He’s always nitpicking, nitpick over tiny details のように「細部ばかり突く」場面でよく出ます。単なる criticism より、重要度の低い点にこだわって全体の流れを止める感じが強いのがポイント。careful や precise のような前向きな「丁寧さ」とは違い、ややうんざりする響きがある語だと押さえると定着します。
Remember it through the verb `nitpick`: `nitpicking` is the habit of doing that. It often appears in phrases like `stop nitpicking` or `nitpicking over small details`. The key feeling is not careful work, but annoying attention to tiny, unimportant points.
例文
She was criticized for nitpicking about grammar instead of focusing on the main argument.
彼女は主な論点に焦点を当てずに文法についての細かい指摘をしたことで批判された。
Stop nitpicking and accept the proposal as it is.
細かい指摘をやめて、案をそのまま受け入れてください。
His tendency toward nitpicking made him unpopular among team members.
細かい指摘をする傾向が彼をチームメンバーの中で不人気にした。
nitpicking の類義語・関連語
nitpicking の語源・成り立ち Etymology
nitpicking は nit「シラミの卵」と picking「つまんで取る」から成る語です。nit は古英語 hnitu、pick は古英語系に由来し、もとは卵を一つずつ取る動作でした。そこから細部ばかり責める意味となり、関連語に nitpicker があります。
Nitpicking comes from nit, meaning a louse egg, and picking, meaning removing something with the fingers. Nit comes from Old English hnitu, and pick comes from an old Germanic source. It first referred to the careful act of removing tiny eggs one by one, and later came to mean paying too much attention to very small faults. A related word is nitpicker.
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