flyspeck

noun

1. Housefly excrement, visible as a minuscule black dot.

   “The wall of the kitchen above the fruitbowl was dotted with flyspeck.”

2. (broadly)Anything tiny or insignificant.

   “From the foothills below, Jean, Jan, and James were mere flyspecks, easily lost among the straggly pines that formed the treeline.”

   “We passed through some flyspeck town, barely more than a gas station and a stoplight, but I never saw the name.”

verb

1. To bespeckle with tiny spatters of color.

   “To flyspeck, you need an old toothbrush, the paint color of your choice, glazing medium, a palette knife, and a mixing surface such as a palette or plastic container.”

2. To inspect in minute detail to ensure that something contains no flaws; nitpick.

   “Your criticism will seem like flyspecking. They'll be mad at you for pointing out that there's more crime than they like to think, and especially mad that you're saying their own group—privileged middle-aged white males—are just as bad as young African-American inner-city toughs, walking the streets in packs of four and looking mean.”