Ever heard this word before?

The word of the day is one of my favorites, as I often use it to describe my hard-to-please boss: persnickety.

The dictionary defines it as "overparticular about trivial details; fastidious.

In other words, someone who's persnickety is fussy, choosy, particular, picky, finicky...you get the point.

One thing is to be particular, but people like my supervisor seem to deliberately look for any excuse not to proceed with something -- signing off on a project, choosing a dress for a party, etc.

It's these kind of people that take forever to make a decision. Just when they seem to have made up their mind, they find something new to criticize. If not given a deadline, they can spend weeks -- if not months -- nitpicking at the most minute things.

While to one observer this may reflect a discerning eye, to another it may signal a chronic inability to make a decision.

Had you ever used or heard the word before? Have you ever met someone persnickety?