I first heard “pedantic” on a Seinfeld episode (The Big Salad) when George’s girlfriend describes a New York columnist as pedantic. George replies, “He can be pedantic. He can be pedantic!” I saw the word again reading 1984, so I thought I should finally learn what it means:

adjective
Characterized by a narrow, often ostentatious concern for book learning and formal rules
e.g.: a pedantic attention to details