Persnickety

Thats twice in one year that I've heard that word, its a weird one, so I looked it up. Persnickety: a) fussy about small details , b) having the characteristics of a snob, c) requiring great precision.

If youve heard of James Blunt, I'm sure you heard the word in one of his songs, and the other place where I heard it is at www.imdb.com (one of my favourite sites) in a review for the new John Cusack film 'Must Love Dogs', the review reads as follows: 'Meddling family members of a persnickety teacher (Diane Lane) enter her into several online dating programs for a change of pace.' (www.imdb.com, 2005).

What a stupid word! it just doesnt sound right, the word itself sounds like something a snobbish child would say. I'm sure there are better alternatives.