math whisperer
- noun
- /mæθ ˈwɪspərər/
- Informal
:
maestro de matemáticas
- Thanks to the math whisperer, even the most challenging algebra problems became manageable.
Examples
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Students always look to their teacher, the math whisperer, for guidance before big exams.
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Many students consider Mr. Lee a math whisperer.
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Her reputation as a math whisperer spread quickly through the school district.
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Ms. Johnson is a brilliant math whisperer!
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Her reputation as a math whisperer spread quickly through the school district.
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Thanks to the math whisperer, even the most challenging algebra problems became manageable.
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Students always look to their teacher, the math whisperer, for guidance before big exams.
Synonyms
25
1.3
A person at school who shows how to work with numbers and shapes
1
2.1
A person who gives lessons in math to students at a school or college
How Skilled
Surface Forms
Morphology
math + whisperer
The element 'math' is transparent, but 'whisperer' is an agentive, metaphorical use of 'whisper' (cf. 'horse whisperer') meaning an expert who handles or 'tames' something gently. A B1 learner who knows the constituents may infer someone unusually skilled with math, but the specialized sense 'skilled teacher/maker-understandable' relies on cultural/metaphorical extension and collocational knowledge, so the relation is only partially predictable.
Etymology
The phrase math whisperer uses the image of a whisperer, someone who calms and understands by speaking quietly, to show a person who can make math clear and less scary for students. So it means 'a teacher who is very good at teaching math and who makes hard ideas easy'.