Couper les cheveux en quatre

Expression: Couper les cheveux en quatre

Pronunciation: [koo pay lay sheu veu a(n) kahtr]

Meaning: to split hairs, quibble, nit-pick

Literal translation: to cut the hair into quarters

Register: normal

Notes: Couper les cheveux en quatre is one of the few idiomatic French expressions with a similar meaning and literal translation in English. It's not quite identical in the two languages, since "split" implies the hair being sliced in two pieces, whereas the French clearly calls for four. But the end result is the same: we're all talking about very minor differences.

Example

   Alors là, c'est couper les cheveux en quatre.
   Now you're just splitting hairs.

Synonyms: chercher la petite bête (literally, "to search for the little bug"), chicaner, chinoiser, ergoter, pinailler

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More

• Conjugating couper
• Expressions with en
• Parts of the body
• French numbers
• Most common French phrases