second-guess
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See also: second guess
English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From trying to improve with a second stab. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Origins, derivations, history and antecedents.”)
Pronunciation
[edit]- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈsɛk.əndˌɡɛs/
- (US) enPR: sĕʹkəndgĕs', IPA(key): /ˈsɛk.(ə)ndˌɡɛs/, /ˈsɛk.(ə)ntˌɡɛs/
- (Canada) IPA(key): /ˈsɛk.ɪndˌɡɛs/
- (General Australian) IPA(key): /ˈsɛk.ən(t)ˌɡɛs/
Audio (General Australian): (file)
- Rhymes: -ɛs
Verb
[edit]second-guess (third-person singular simple present second-guesses, present participle second-guessing, simple past and past participle second-guessed)
- (idiomatic) To vet or evaluate; to criticize or correct, often by hindsight, by presuming to have a better idea, method, etc.
- 1946, someone, somewhere:
- I suppose anybody who keeps a diary and subsequently goes over it for publication has a tremendous temptation to second-guess and make himself look like an oracle.
- 1957, United States Senate proceedings:
- As a practical matter, a fertilizer company could not afford to second-guess the Federal Trade Commission or a jury in a triple damage case on so obscure a point.
- 1959, U.S. Court of Appeals proceedings:
- Public administration would be hamstrung if courts were free to second-guess reasonable administrative decisions.
- 1995, someone, somewhere:
- MacGregor avoided this trap by refusing to give managers reporting to him the opportunity to second-guess the solution he would be most likely to choose.
- 2003, Editing Today:
- If you suspect you've stepped over the line, ask a few other copy editors to second-guess your headline.
- Please don't try to second-guess the procedure that we have already refined and adopted.
- Once she began listening to her instincts and didn't second-guess herself the entire time, her artwork improved noticeably.
- 1946, someone, somewhere:
- To anticipate or predict someone's actions or thoughts by guesswork.
- 2019 November 6, Dennis Fancett, Rail, page 54:
- But it is not Network Rail's job to second guess whether the sponsoring authority really does need the scheme, and whether it has looked at other options.
Synonyms
[edit]Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]to vet or evaluate
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See also
[edit]- second thoughts
- question mark (particle)
References
[edit]- http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/second-guess
- http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-secondguess.html
- http://media.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/second-guesses
- http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=second-guess
- “second-guess”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.