handwaving

[Jonathan Lighter]

Sugg. by "hand-wringing"?

JL

On Sat, Jul 24, 2010 at 11:49 PM, Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: handwaving
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> FWIW, I first heard this use of _hand-waving_ used during the course
> of lectures on linguistic theory at M.I.T. in 1972. For some reason
> that I've not bothered to winkle out of my subconscious, I find this
> use of the phrase trivially annoying.
>
> -Wilson
>
>
> On Sat, Jul 24, 2010 at 12:01 PM, Garson O'Toole
> <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
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> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Garson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      handwaving
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > I was unable to find in the OED hand-waving or handwave in the senses
> > given below in Wikipedia and the Jargon file. Perhaps I am not
> > searching properly in the OED.
> >
> > handwaving
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handwaving
> >
> > handwave
> > http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/H/handwave.html
> >
> > A questioner in the comments section of the "Quotes Uncovered:
> > Freakonomics" blog thought "hand-waving" might be related to a popular
> > scene in the Star Wars movie concerning a Jedi mind trick:
> >
> > Obi-Wan: These aren't the droids you're looking for.
> > Stormtrooper: These aren't the droids we're looking for.
> >
> > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1rlThKe1qo
> >
> http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/22/quotes-uncovered-fog-of-war-and-showing-up/
> >
> > However, the questioner did correctly suspect that the term
> > hand-waving predates the 1977 film. Here is 1997 cite followed by a
> > possible 1942 cite:
> >
> > Cite: 1997 May 16, Times Higher Education, Too much eclectic
> > hand-waving by Richard Cooper, Review of The Cerebral Code
> >
> > Behind the central idea, stunningly thought provoking as it is, there
> > is a great deal of handwaving. Virtually every argument is presented
> > through a musical analogy, but I was constantly searching for
> > substance, unsure if I really understood what was being said, and
> > wondering if it had any real explanatory force.
> >
> > Cite: 1942 November 24, Miami News, On The Night Side: Be Careful When
> > Sid White Waves His Hands; Then You Haven’t Got A Chance” by Les
> > Simmonds, Page 8B, Miami, Florida. (Google News archive)
> >
> > If Sid books an act that lays an egg, when confronted by the irate
> > night club owner his manner at once becomes accusing, mildly bellicose
> > and injured. After a few moments of White’s hand-waving logic the
> > owner feels that perhaps he himself is guilty for the act’s poor
> > showing. Not until Sid and his wildly waving hands depart does the
> > owner catch his breath. Too late.
> >
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> >
>
>
>
> --
> -Wilson
> –––
> All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"––a strange complaint to
> come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> –Mark Twain
>
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