"You pettifogger, you!"

Some people love numbers; I love words. I love to learn new ones and old ones and enjoy seeing people make them up.

And I love it when people dredge up an old, old word and use it all over the place.

Of course, I'm talking about Chief Justice John Roberts, who blasted both the  Democrats and Republicans during the impeachment trial.  Because senators on both sides were being so vociferously contumacious and disputatious, he dressed them down with a fine old rare word -- pettifogging -- to settle them down.

Roberts, who ordinarily spends his days in the company of well-reasoned individuals who behave like grownups, and Brett Kavanaugh, sat through the barbs and insults, and said that sort of talk was inappropriate, citing history to remind a roomful of lawyers why they need to act like big boys and girls.

"In the 1905 Swayne trial, a senator objected when one of the managers used the word 'pettifogging' and the presiding officer said the word ought not to have been used," Roberts said. "I don't think we need to aspire to that high of a standard, but I do think those addressing the Senate should remember where they are."

Roberts did not make it clear just what the objection was. Possibly, the solon lodging the gripe did not know what it means ("worrying too much about details that are minor or not important," according to Merriam-Webster) but I suppose he was saying that in 1905, senators found it objectionable to nit-pick, and in 2020, they're openly calling others dishonest.

The Chief Justice continued, "I think it is appropriate for me to admonish both the House managers and the President's counsel in equal terms to remember that they are addressing the world's greatest deliberative body. One reason it has earned that title is because its members avoid speaking in a manner and using language that is not conducive to civil discourse."

Or not. Perhaps he figures that saying so makes it so.

At any rate, his job here is largely ceremonial.  He presides over the trial by  keeping the clock, reading aloud the rules, and announcing the vote tallies.
The Senate majority could overrule any decisions he were to lay down, so it's better than he serve us to use rare words that we can learn and use.

I would suggest that Roberts turn to merriam-webster.com, a site I visit like kids go to YouTube. They feature a Word of the Day, and recently, that page has featured some fine ones: "parvenu," "sublimate," "lackluster," "euphoria," "outlandish" and "nurture" among them.

All but the last of these could reasonably be expected to be seen in any article about Congress. Nurturing is not a thing they do.