[Ads-l] fuzz = uncertainty, ambiguity

[Dan Goncharoff]

"no gloves"?

DanG

On Thu, Jun 15, 2017 at 2:16 PM, Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com> wrote:

> My latest WSJ column is on "fuzz" as used by James Comey in his Senate
> testimony last week ("There is no fuzz on that").
>
> https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-james-comey-meant-by-fuzz-1497545020
>
> As usual, if you hit the paywall, you can try following a social media
> link:
>
> https://twitter.com/bgzimmer/status/875413221972348928
>
> Here are relevant cites for "fuzz on (X)" = 'uncertainty/doubt about (X)'.
>
> Problems at National Aeronautics and Space Administration, FY91, Special
> Hearing
> Senate Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies Appropriations,
> July 18, 1990
> Hearing Id: HRG-1990-SAP-0043, Transcript, p. 46
> http://congressional.proquest.com/congressional/docview/t29.
> d30.hrg-1990-sap-0043
> [James M. Beggs, former NASA Administrator:] In short, NASA is fully as
> responsible as Perkin-Elmer for the mistake that was made. There is no fuzz
> on that as we say in the trade. We are fully responsible. We had the
> oversight responsibility.
>
> Hearings on National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994
> House Subcommittee on Readiness, Committee on Armed Services, May 11, 1993
> Hearing Id: HRG-1993-ASH-0022, Transcript, p. 549
> http://congressional.proquest.com/congressional/docview/t29.
> d30.hrg-1993-ash-0022
> [Gen. Ronald W. Yates:] So we look at what we are doing and what our
> wartime needs are. In other words, there is a number that is firm. What we
> say is, here is how much the depot can surge. There is a little fuzz on
> that, as I talked about.
>
> Defense Daily, Aug. 11, 1994 [Factiva]
> "A weapons system in development and on the drawing board never saved a
> single life," he [Lt. Gen. William Forster] said. "I'd rather have a good
> piece of equipment with a little fuzz on it in combat than a wonderful
> piece of equipment in my computer database."
>
> Commuter/Regional Airline News, Aug. 9, 1999, p. 1 [Factiva]
> There are a lot of spin doctors saying the WTO decision wasn't as bad as it
> seemed, said Adam Pilarski of Reston, Va.-based Avitas. "In fact, both
> countries were called bad and told not to operate their subsidy programs
> anymore," he stated. "There's no fuzz on this decision. The WTO said both
> countries were illegally subsidizing products. Everyone says we lost, but
> someone lost more. No one really said we won."
>
> Denver Post, Mar. 29, 2000, p. A1 [LexisNexis]
> "We made mistakes. No fuzz on that. We own up to that. There is no excusing
> mistakes," said Noel Hinners, vice president of flight systems for
> Lockheed.
>
> Texas, July 30, 2000 [Factiva]
> "It was very hard to get your arms around what it meant," said company
> spokesman Joe Stout. "We're not doing that again. We're military aircraft.
> There's no fuzz on it."
>
> Associated Press, Aug. 25, 2003 [Factiva]
> In an interview Monday, [NASA administrator Sean] O'Keefe said the report
> "is going to have no fuzz on it, no gloves. It is going to be
> straightforward."
>
> --bgz
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org