to make often peevish criticisms or objections about matters that are minor, unimportant, or irrelevant. They fussed that the cheese should have been served at room temperature, but to me they were splitting hairs.
Where does the phrase splitting hairs come from?
Origin: 17th Century, British English - This expression came about because in the Middle Ages and earlier it was thought that a single human hair was so thin and so fine that it would be a waste of time to try to split it. Therefore this concept became associated with any similar futile efforts.
What does split hairs mean in business?
phrase. If you say that someone is splitting hairs, you mean that they are making unnecessary distinctions between things when the differences between them are so small they are not important.
