fuzzy math
1
8.2
- noun
- Literature
:
matemáticas imprecisas
- Yes, he ran a terribly unimaginative campaign on policy, by turns vague and contradictory, offering boilerplate one moment and fuzzy math the next.
- Obama's fuzzy math
Examples
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Frank, fuzzy math on your end, Google for the truth, Frank.
Blog text (13) -
One in which the industry decides not to pay them even a fair wage while the government allows the fuzzy math to include expected tips.
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"For his part, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell rushed to defend Kyl's fuzzy math:
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In response, Bush shamelessly disassembled and said it was Gore who was peddling "fuzzy math."
Blog text (30) -
Many critics argue that the government's budget proposal is based on fuzzy math rather than solid financial calculations.
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The report criticized the use of fuzzy math in the politician's speech to obscure the true cost of the program.
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Teachers have complained that the new curriculum relies too much on fuzzy math concepts that confuse students.
Antonyms
How Accurate
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'mathematical reasoning or calculations that are vague, imprecise, or misleading' is directly and compositionally derived from combining 'fuzzy' (unclear) with 'math' (mathematics) in an adjective+noun compound. This adjective+noun pattern is transparent and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the intended sense (even if it can be used rhetorically to imply misleading calculations).
Etymology
Fuzzy math makes you picture numbers as a blurry photo. The word fuzzy means unclear and math means numbers, so the phrase suggests numbers that hide the truth, which is why it means 'not exact' or 'misleading'.