nitpicker
noun

- someone who finds faults in details that are not important

- a person given to harsh judgments and to finding faults

Cambridge Dictionary / Merriam-Webster

—
WORD ORIGIN

"Nit" meaning "louse egg" (Laus-Ei) derives from Middle English nite, from Old English hnitu, from Proto-Germanic hnitu- (the source also of Norwegian nit, Middle Dutch nete, Dutch neet, Middle High German niz.

—
NITPICKING MICHELANGELO’S DAVID

Five hundred years ago, there was an enormous, gorgeous marble block collecting dust in a church in Florence, Italy. The stone was purchased by the city’s mayor, Piero Soderini, with the intention of becoming a masterpiece.

Unfortunately, an amateur sculptor had chiseled a hole where the masterpiece-to-be’s legs would have been. Florence’s Mayor, Piero Soderini, fought desperately to save the damaged stone but countless artists –– even artists the likes of Leonardo da Vinci –– felt it was a lost cause.

Fortunately, Michelangelo saw the marble block differently. In it he visualised a figure of David and what was to become, arguably the greatest masterpiece birthed during the Renaissance.

But, when Soderini first laid eyes on the sculpture, he told Michelangelo that David’s nose was too large. Rather than argue with Soderini, Michelangelo asked him to take several steps back as he climbed to the top of the scaffolding with a chisel and a handful of marble dust.

Michelangelo hid David’s nose as he “chiseled” away, letting loose from his palm the white chips and powder.

Once he was finished, he asked Soderini what he thought. Soderini, unaware of Michelangelo’s witchcraft, looked at him and said…

"You’ve made it come alive!"

—
SYNONYMS

- a person who criticizes, especially habitually
- a person who makes a fuss, particularly about trivial things
- a person who is excessively concerned with minor details and rules or with displaying academic learning

bellyacher, carper, censor, complainer, curmudgeon, dampener, disapprover, fault-finder, fishwife, formalist, fretter, fussbudget, fusser, fusspot, fussy person, griper, grumbler, hair-splitter, handwringer, hypercritic, know-it-all, methodologist, moaner, nagger, nervous Nellie, NITPICKER, overthinker, pain, pedagogue, pedant, perfectionist, pettifogger, precisionist, purist, quibbler, squeaky wheel, stickler (for perfection), wailing encyclopedia, whiner, whinger, worryguts, worrywart

—
SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

"Hey Jim,… sorry to be a NITPICKER, but I still need to check a few details with you before we submit the proposal."

—
HERZLICHEN DANK to all readers helping me keep OWAD alive with single or monthly donations at:

https://donorbox.org/please-become-a-friend-of-owad-3

and,

Paul Smith, IBAN: DE75 7316 0000 0002 5477 40