I wonder if there is a word or phrase for when someone lost an argument but still wants the last word so they bring up a grammatical error or act like they don't understand common nomenclature and take every word in the most literal sense in an attempt to feel superior. Can any English teachers out here help?

"Grasping at straws" doesn't completely encompass this but it's the closest thing I can think of

[–] jasory@programming.dev 2 points 1 year ago

How did I lose the argument? I claimed that the user is probably a drug addict, they denied it. There is really no proving or disproving either claim.

The actual argument I made, that MycoBro's personal experience has little relevance, was completely unaddressed. Literally read any of his response, all of it was about consuming mushrooms, absolutely nothing to do with the reliability of anecdotal experience.

I merely made my last response because I found the clearly vitriolic analogy to be humourous, and the rest of the comment had nothing of substance.