<noun.cognition> they didn't take his hairsplitting seriously [ adj ]
developed in excessively fine detail
<adj.all> finespun distinctions
Hairsplitting \Hair"split`ting\ (-t[i^]ng), a. Making excessively fine or trivial distinctions in reasoning; overly subtle. -- n. The act or practice of making trivial distinctions.
The ancient hairsplitting technicalities of special pleading. --Charles Sumner.