hand waving

See also: handwaving and hand-waving

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Noun

hand waving (plural hand wavings)

1. (idiomatic) Discussion or argumentation involving approximation, vagueness, educated guessing, or the attempt to explain or excuse vagaries.

   Alternative forms: hand-waving, handwaving

   The sales pitch sounded good, but there was a lot of hand waving about the price.

   • 2000 August 21, “letter”, in Time:

     Protesters who demand that this brilliantly humane enterprise be stopped should have their motives questioned. Their protest is nothing but the mindless hand waving of Luddites.

Related terms

• handwave
• handwaver
• handwavium
• handwavy
• wave of the hand

Translations

argumentation involving approximation

• Arabic: تَلْوِيح بِالْيَد m (talwīḥ bi-l-yad)
• Finnish: käsienheiluttelu (fi)
• Hebrew: נפנופי־ידיים
• Polish: niejasna argumentacja f