hand waving
3
8.6
- noun
- Informal
- But there might be a little too much simplistic hand-waving about rules.
Examples
-
Provide your evidence that they are not; thus far, all we have is hand waving and baseless smugness.
Blog text (14) -
I do insist on rigor, and that does mean that the proofs are going to run longer than the hand-waving soundbites favored by those who live to get great student evaluations.
Blog text (32) -
The little guy did a lot of hand waving, but it was all motion and no sound.
Fiction book (1991) -
I find there are very few alternatives offered, just hand-waving about "natural causes."
Blog text (15) -
To write it all off to volcanoes just seems like so much hand-waving to me.
Blog text (30) -
The broad, sweeping, hand-waving claim is that we need fossil fuels to power our present infrastructure.
Blog text (5) -
Nothing unusual is happening, despite all the alarmist hand-waving.
Blog text (9) -
Aristotle at least sought to systematically explain things instead of engaging in hand-waving.
Blog text (32) -
It is a lot of hand-waving and an inept attempt to bamboozle.
Blog text (1) -
During the debate, his hand waving didn't address the actual issues at hand, making it clear he was avoiding real answers.
Synonyms
1
4.9
Moving the hands to get attention or make a point
1
6.3
You move your hands or arms while talking to show feelings
Antonyms
How Substantial
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal image of moving one's hand is directly derivable from 'hand' + 'wave', so a B1 learner would understand it refers to a gesture. However, the idiomatic extension to mean a vague, insubstantial explanation or dismissive tactic is a metaphorical shift that is not fully predictable without exposure, making the expression only partially transparent.
Etymology
The phrase hand waving comes from the image of someone moving their hand in a waving way to draw attention or hide a problem. That's why it means giving 'vague' or 'distracting' explanations instead of a clear answer.