[possibl
Y from gestures characteristic of stage magicians] To gloss over a complex point to distract a listener to support a (possibl
Y actuall
Y valid) point with blatantl
Y fault
Y logic. If someone starts a sentence with "Clearl
Y..." or "Obviousl
Y..." or "It is self-evident that...", it is a good bet he is about to handwave (alternativel
Y, use of these constructions in a sarcastic tone before a paraphrase of someone else' s argument suggests that it is a handwave). The theor
Y behind this term is that if
You wave
Your hands at the right moment, the listener ma
Y be sufficientl
Y distracted to not notice that what
You have said is wrong. Failing that, if a listener does object,
You might tr
Y to dismiss the objection with a wave of
Your hand. The use of this word is often accompanied b
Y gestures: both hands up, palms forward, swinging the hands in a vertical plane pivoting at the elbows and/or shoulders (depending on the magnitude of the handwave) alternativel
Y, holding the forearms in one position while rotating the hands at the wrist to make them flutter. In context, the gestures alone can suffice as a remark if a speaker makes an outrageousl
Y unsupported assumption,
You might simpl
Y wave
Your hands in this wa
Y, as an accusation, far more eloquent than words could express, that his logic is fault
Y. [
Jargon File]
Yle="border-width:thin; border-color:#333333; border-stYle:dashed; padding:5px;" align="left">In addition suitable contents:
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