VOA慢速英语2019 词汇掌故：Pettifogging是什么意思？

The little-known word "pettifogging" was used during a 1905 impeachment¹ trial of a judge. This week, Chief Justice John Roberts used it again during the impeachment trial of U.S. President Donald Trump².

1905年在弹劾一名法官的审判期间使用了pettifogging这个鲜为人知的单词。本周，美国最高法院首席大法官约翰·罗伯茨在美国总统川普的弹劾案中再次用到了这个单词。

Roberts is the presiding officer of the trial. He did not say much during the trial's first day. Instead, the impeachment managers from the House of Representatives and the president's lawyers argued about the charges against Trump.

罗伯茨是这次审判的主审。他在审判的第一天并没有说太多话。相反，众议院的弹劾管理人和总统律师就针对川普的指控进行了辩论。

Late at night, however, the arguments became heated.

然而在深夜时，争论变得更加激烈。

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, a Democrat³, wanted the Republican-controlled Senate to permit witnesses at the trial. He told senators that a vote to deny witnesses was a "treacherous⁴ vote." He added that it would be "a vote against an honest trial. A vote against the United States."

众议院司法委员会主席杰里·纳德勒是民主党人，他希望共和党控制的参议院允许证人出庭。他对参议员表示，拒绝证人的投票是“危险的投票。”他还说，这将是一次“有违诚实审理的投票，一次反美国的投票。”

In answer to that, White House counsel Pat Cipollone said, "The only one who should be embarrassed, Mr. Nadler, is you. For the way you addressed this body. This is the United States Senate. You're not in charge here."

对此，白宫律师帕特·西波隆表示：“唯一应该感觉尴尬的正是你，纳德勒先生。原因是你在这的说话方式。这里是美国参议院，这里不归你管。”

Twelve hours into his position as presiding officer, Roberts reminded everyone who was in charge. He issued a warning for both sides to avoid the use of strong language.

罗伯茨在当上主审的12小时后提醒大家看看谁才是老大。他警告双方要避免使用粗俗的语言。

Roberts said, "In the 1905 Swayne trial, a senator objected when one of the managers used the word 'pettifogging' and the presiding officer said the word ought not to have been used. I don't think we need to aspire⁵ to that high of a standard, but I do think those addressing the Senate should remember where they are."

罗伯茨表示：“在1905年弹劾斯韦恩的审理中，当一位管理人使用pettifogging这个词时，有参议员提出了反对，主审也说不应该使用这个词。我认为我们不用那么高标准，但是我确实认为议员在参议院发言时要谨记自己站在哪里。”

Overnight, dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster reported, the lookups for the word "pettifogger" went up by over 30,000 percent.

字典出版社韦氏词典报告称，pettigogger这个单词一夜之间的查询量增加了300倍以上。

So, what does this word mean?

那么，这个单词是什么意思呢？

Let's break it down. Petti- comes from the adjective "petty," which means "not very important or serious." And -fogger may come from an old slang word that meant "a whining⁶ beggar."

我们把它拆开来看。前缀Petti来自于petty这个形容词，意思是“不太重要的。”而fogger可能出自于一个古老的俚语，意思是发牢骚的叫花子。

Merriam-Webster says pettifogger has two main meanings. The first is "a lawyer whose methods are petty, underhanded, or disreputable." The second meaning is "one given to quibbling over trifles." Quibble is another word for argue. And a trifle is something that is unimportant or of little value.

韦氏词典表示，pettifogger有两种主要含义。一种含义是“一名方法琐碎、不熟练或者声誉不佳的律师。”第二种含义是“某人就琐事磨嘴皮子。”Quibble是争论的同义词。而trifle是指无关紧要或没什么价值的事情。

Pettifogging means "worrying too much about details that are minor⁷ or not important," says Merriam-Webster's Learning English dictionary.

韦氏英语学习词典表示，Pettifogging意思是“过于在意那些次要或不重要的细节。”

Roberts was noting that the two sides were arguing over small, unimportant issues as they addressed "the world's greatest deliberative body."

罗伯茨是说，双方在“全球最伟大的审议机构”讲话时，争的都是些鸡毛蒜皮的事情。

1 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

4 treacherous   

adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的

参考例句：

• The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.路面的积水对驾车者构成危险。
• The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on.在冻雪上行走有潜在危险。

5 aspire   

vi.(to，after)渴望，追求，有志于

参考例句：

• Living together with you is what I aspire toward in my life.和你一起生活是我一生最大的愿望。
• I aspire to be an innovator not a follower.我迫切希望能变成个开创者而不是跟随者。

6 whining   

n. 抱怨，牢骚 v. 哭诉，发牢骚

参考例句：

• That's the way with you whining, puny, pitiful players. 你们这种又爱哭、又软弱、又可怜的赌棍就是这样。
• The dog sat outside the door whining (to be let in). 那条狗坐在门外狺狺叫着（要进来）。

7 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。