A.Word.A.Day --second-guess

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second-guess

PRONUNCIATION:

(SEK-uhnd GES)

MEANING:

verb tr.:
1. To criticize an event with the benefit of hindsight.
2. To guess or predict.

ETYMOLOGY:

Probably a back-formation from second-guesser (in baseball, one who criticizes a play after the fact). Earliest documented use: 1941.

USAGE:

"Some managers become cross when they're second-guessed, but Bruce Bochy wasn't afraid to question himself after the team's loss."
Clutch, Giants' Offense Stalls; San Jose Mercury News (California); Apr 7, 2007.

"Trying to second-guess the Arsenal team that will play against Liverpool is no simple task."
Sam Wallace; Arsenal Teenagers Face Baptism of Fire; Belfast Telegraph (Ireland); Aug 18, 2011.

See more usage examples of second-guess in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions. -Confucius, philosopher and teacher (c. 551-478 BCE)

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