The word "niggling" is correct and usable in written English.
It means to "persistently harass or criticize in a petty way," and is usually used as an adjective. For example, you could say, "My niggling boss constantly harangued me about minor issues throughout the day."
But I cannot suspend a niggling doubt that another agenda is at play.
"It's torturous, unforgiving, such a niggling pace," said Wiggins, although he conceded that he "had no physically bad spells, just a couple of moments when I wavered".
Today, I am trying to ignore a niggling anxiety that her cough is a symptom of something more serious than a cold.
This morning I woke with the niggling bastardy little ghost of last night's red wine vibrating through my head and dehydrating my synapses.
And Beardsley fired home from close range in the dying minutes of a game marred by a niggling undercurrent on both the pitch and touchline.
There is one element of the condition that's been niggling, though.
It is "really quite niggling", as Justice Alito charges, and disingenuous (I would add) to complain that all Greece needs to do is to invite a more diverse range of religious officiates.
This, his aides say, means he cannot answer for the moment such niggling questions as whether he accepts the very concept of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.In his campaign for the election in February, he spoke of "economic peace" rather than full political peace between two proper states.
Such places come with most of the trappings and comforts of a state, but few of the niggling international obligations.
For his part Mr Sarkozy has tried hard to make the niggling chippiness that once characterised France's relations with America a thing of the past.
"Operating profits were up substantially, too," Mr Newman says; "just the timing was different".A more niggling worry is that the company is starting to find the market for mobile devices harder work.
