重箱の隅をつつく ― split hairs

"to split hairs"を英和辞典で調べると、”重箱の隅をつつく”という訳語が目に留まります。

非常に細かな差異に拘る、という意味ですが、細い髪の毛の一本一本を選り分けるような行為から派生したものと思われます。


I didn't realize until recently that Westchester County employees don't contribute to their health insurance costs. This is ridiculous! I have been in corporate America for 25 years and always contributed to my health-insurance benefits. In these current economically stressful times, it is a perk to even be offered health insurance as part of your employment package. County employees should be thankful they have health benefits, and it sounds like the health-care plans offered are top-notch. This is not always the case in the corporate world.

I don't understand why county legislators are spending so much time on this topic. Were we supposed to be impressed that they actually met on a Saturday? All of this time wasted is costing the taxpayers each day. I think the proposal for a 15 percent employee contribution is the right one. Please, just do it. Stop trying to split hairs and percentages among people with seniority and years of service. This is not fair and will only cause additional problems among employees and bureaucratic confusion.
(The Journal News. March 14, 2010.)


"to split hairs"は動詞句として用いられますが、"hair-splitting"という形で形容詞としても用いられます。