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Punctilio

[puNGk-TIL-ee-oh]

Part of speech: noun

Origin: Italian and Spanish, late 16th century

1.

A fine or petty point of conduct or procedure.

Examples of Punctilio in a sentence

"Pedro had a knack for remembering the punctilio of military dress codes."

"Debutante balls are rife with all sorts of punctilio."

About Punctilio

This word comes from both the Italian “puntiglio” and the Spanish “puntillo,” the diminutive of “punto,” meaning “a point.” It originally stems from the Latin “punctum.”

Did you Know?

In the “A Series of Unfortunate Events” books and Netflix show, the newspaper/tabloid “The Daily Punctilio” offers a “simplified and often incorrect” take on the world surrounding its readers, according to narrator Lemony Snicket. The paper’s motto “All The News in Fits of Print,” is a play on The New York Times' well-known tagline. If you watch the series and look closely at the smaller headlines, you might appreciate some of the joke headlines, like “Police Search for Missing Mustache” or “Yes, Slowdown Continues to Accelerate.”

illustration Punctilio

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