“找茬”游戏盛行已经好多年。“找茬”说白了就是“挑毛病”、“挑刺”，今天咱们就来看看“找茬”怎么说。

1. Nitpick

这个词据说来源于“抓虱子”，nit就是“虱子”，虱子很微小，但实在是很烦人很讨厌，于是人们都要“抓虱子”nitpick，后来这个词就变成了“挑刺儿，找茬”，nit比喻无关紧要的细节。例如：He tried to get her to stop nitpicking all the time. 他试图让她不要总是找茬。

而 nitpicker 就表示“挑刺/找茬的人”。那要形容一个找茬的人怎么说呢？就是nitpicking了，比如：a nit-picking lawyer 喜欢找茬儿的律师。

2. Find fault with someone

Find fault 的意思就是“批评criticize, express dissatisfaction with”，例如：He is such a man who is always finding fault with other people. 他总是找别人的毛病。

She was a difficult traveling companion, constantly finding fault with the hotel, meal service, and tour guides.

3. Pick a hole in

似乎“找茬、挑刺”就和pick脱不了干系了，pick a hole in / pick holes in，pick apart，pick to pieces 这几个片语都可以用来表示“找茬，挑刺，严厉地谴责”，我们来看几个例子：

As soon as I presented my argument, he began to pick holes in it. 我一表明我的论点，他就开始挑刺。

They picked her apart the moment she left the room. 她一离开房间，他们就开始挑她的毛病。

The new editor picked her manuscript to pieces. 新编辑把她的原稿批得一无是处。

（英语点津 Annabel 编辑）

我要学习更多口语表达