blind with science

English

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Verb

blind with science (third-person singular simple present blinds with science, present participle blinding with science, simple past and past participle blinded with science)

1. (idiomatic) To overwhelm someone with details in order to influence or mislead them.
   • 1955, Arthur C. Clarke, Earthlight, page 8:

     He had no doubt that they would all have highly convincing stories, and would try to blind him with science if he attempted to pin them down.

   • 1957, Herbert Morrison, Vitality in Administration, page 51:

     If you give him the full printed accounts of his company, he will react by saying that you are blinding him with science, and will pick on figures with many noughts after them and ask where all that money has gone.

   • 1970 January 20, James Allason, “Ascertainment of Gross Value of Dwelling-House”, in parliamentary debates (House of Commons), volume 794, column 443:

     My Hon. Friend the Member for the City of Chester has explained what could happen if he comes up against a really hot surveyor who blinds him with science and produces all sorts of cases of which the valuation officer has not heard.

   • 1972, Brian Glanville, The Financiers, page 128:

     He'd blinded him with science. He'd tied him up with references and precedents. He'd cited Rabbi This from Cracow and Rabbi That from Vilna, till apparently the Great Developer looked like nothing so much as a bull quilled with banotilleros.

   • 2014, Rosie Harris, A Dream of Love, page 150:

     Betting was how most of the money Bill earned from helping Fred ended up back in Fred's pocket and not in his. Fred blinded him with science and it always turned out to be to Fred's advantage, Bill thought ruefully.