Wiktionary

second-guess

See also: second guess

English edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

From trying to improve with a second stab. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Origins, derivations, history and antecedents.”)

Pronunciation edit

Verb edit

second-guess (third-person singular simple present second-guesses, present participle second-guessing, simple past and past participle second-guessed)

  1. (idiomatic) to vet or evaluate; to criticize or correct, often by hindsight, by presuming to have a better idea, method, etc.
    • 1946, someone, somewhere:
      I suppose anybody who keeps a diary and subsequently goes over it for publication has a tremendous temptation to second-guess and make himself look like an oracle.
    • 1957, United States Senate proceedings:
      As a practical matter, a fertilizer company could not afford to second-guess the Federal Trade Commission or a jury in a triple damage case on so obscure a point.
    • 1959, U.S. Court of Appeals proceedings:
      Public administration would be hamstrung if courts were free to second-guess reasonable administrative decisions.
    • 1995, someone, somewhere:
      MacGregor avoided this trap by refusing to give managers reporting to him the opportunity to second-guess the solution he would be most likely to choose.
    • 2003, Editing Today:
      If you suspect you've stepped over the line, ask a few other copy editors to second-guess your headline.
    Please don't try to second-guess the procedure that we have already refined and adopted.
    Once she began listening to her instincts and didn't second-guess herself the entire time, her artwork improved noticeably.
  2. To anticipate or predict someone's actions or thoughts by guesswork.
    • 2019 November 6, Dennis Fancett, Rail, page 54:
      But it is not Network Rail's job to second guess whether the sponsoring authority really does need the scheme, and whether it has looked at other options.

Synonyms edit

Derived terms edit

Translations edit

See also edit

References edit

Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=second-guess&oldid=77965950"