fussbudgetry

Etymology

From fussbudget + -ry.

Why this word is great

FUSSBUDGETRY — [Noun] The characteristics and behaviors of a fussbudget; petty complaining. From fussbudget (a person who fusses over trivial matters) + -ry (suffix forming nouns denoting a characteristic or behavior). Unlike "fastidiousness" (which implies precision with purpose) or "querulousness" (which suggests generalized discontent), fussbudgetry is the art of manufacturing crisis from crumbs. It is the sigh over a teacup’s chipped rim, the ritual realignment of coasters that were already straight, the slow, theatrical smoothing of a napkin that no one else noticed was wrinkled—a performance of distress so minor it circles back to absurdity, proving that pettiness, too, can be a kind of devotion.

noun

  1. The characteristics and behaviors of a fussbudget; petty complaining.“All these interested Porter, but not most New Yorker readers; and his self-indulgent operation has produced most of the time not the valuable critical writing his gifts promised but a flood of historical and musical fussbudgetry that was a waste of his attention and time and theirs.”