揚(あ)げ足取(あしと)り

あげあしとり
noun
nitpicking; catching someone on minor errors
1. nitpicking; catching someone on slips; fault-finding
the act of finding fault with trivial mistakes in what someone says or does, often ignoring the main point
揚(あ)げ足取(あしと)りはやめてください。
Please stop nitpicking.
言葉尻(ことばじり)の揚(あ)げ足取(あしと)りばかりしている。
All they do is pick on people's choice of words.
建設的(けんせつてき)な意見(いけん)ではなく揚(あ)げ足取(あしと)りに終始(しゅうし)した。
Rather than giving constructive feedback, they just nitpicked the whole time.

ETYMOLOGY:
From sumo wrestling terminology: 揚(あ)げ足(あし) refers to lifting an opponent's leg to trip them. 揚(あ)げ足取(あしと)り means exploiting an opponent's momentary vulnerability.

NUANCE:
Strongly negative connotation. Implies pettiness and missing the larger point in favor of trivial criticisms.

COMMON PATTERNS:

  • 揚(あ)げ足取(あしと)りをする - to nitpick
  • 揚(あ)げ足(あし)を取(と)る - to catch someone on a mistake
  • 言葉尻(ことばじり)の揚(あ)げ足取(あしと)り - picking on word choice

RELATED:

  • 重箱(じゅうばこ)の隅(すみ)をつつく - to be excessively picky (lit. 'poking corners of a lacquer box')
  • あら探(さが)し - fault-finding
  • 粗探(あらさが)し - looking for flaws
general
Added 2026.1.27 12:47
08000/08465_ageashitori