[1] : Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001)

handwave poss. from gestures characteristic of stage magicians 1. v.
   to gloss over a complex point; to distract a listener; to support a
   possibly actually valid point with blatantly faulty logic. 2. n. the
   act of handwaving. "boy, what a handwave"

   if someone starts a sentence with "clearly..." or "obviously..." or
   "it is self-evident that...", it is a good bet he is about to handwave
   alternatively, use of these constructions in a sarcastic tone before a
   paraphrase of someone else's argument suggests that it is a handwave.
   the theory behind this term is that if you wave your hands at the right
   moment, the listener may be sufficiently distracted to not notice that
   what you have said is bogus. failing that, if a listener does object,
   you might try to dismiss the objection with a wave of your hand.

   the use of this word is often accompanied by 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;
   alternatively, 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 outrageously unsupported
   assumption, you might simply wave your hands in this way, as an
   accusation, far more eloquent than words could express, that his logic
   is faulty.


see also:
bogus 

[2] : The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03)

handwave
     
        possibly from gestures characteristic of stage magicians to
        gloss over a complex point; to distract a listener; to support
        a possibly actually valid point with blatantly faulty logic.
     
        if someone starts a sentence with "clearly..." or
        "obviously..." or "it is self-evident that...", it is a good
        bet he is about to handwave alternatively, use of these
        constructions in a sarcastic tone before a paraphrase of
        someone else's argument suggests that it is a handwave.  the
        theory behind this term is that if you wave your hands at the
        right moment, the listener may be sufficiently distracted to
        not notice that what you have said is wrong.  failing that, if
        a listener does object, you might try to dismiss the objection
        with a wave of your hand.
     
        the use of this word is often accompanied by 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; alternatively, 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 outrageously
        unsupported assumption, you might simply wave your hands in
        this way, as an accusation, far more eloquent than words could
        express, that his logic is faulty.
     
        jargon file
     
     
see also:
jargon file 

Handwave >> H Words
Handwave, definition of term: Handwave
handwave_pag1.html

Hand...
... ..
http://www.handwave.co.uk/, score=100, date indexed=December 30, 2005, 2:03 pm

Handwave Inc. -- Software Products for the Palm OS
...Handwave Color Cards and Call Notes are trademarks of Handwave Inc.   ... Handwave Color Cards. ™ extends the Palm OS Memo application with a ... ..
http://www.handwave.com/, score=74, date indexed=December 30, 2005, 2:30 am

The Hand Wave Gallery
...june.jacobs@handwave.ca                             cfjj@sasktel.net ... ..
http://www.handwave.ca/, score=39, date indexed=January 20, 2006, 1:46 am

handwave from FOLDOC
...Nearby terms: hand-roll « handshake « handshaking « handwave » hang » ... it is a good bet he is about to handwave (alternatively, use of these ... ..
http://wombat.doc.ic.ac.uk/foldoc/foldoc.cgi?handwave, score=31, date indexed=November 16, 2005, 9:45 am

Dictionary.com/handwave
...2 entries found for handwave.. handwave. [possibly from gestures ... is a handwave). The theory behind this term is that if you wave. your ... ..
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=handwave, score=28, date indexed=December 15, 2005, 12:32 am

handwave
...2. n. The act of handwaving. "Boy, what a handwave!" If someone starts ... handwave [poss. from gestures characteristic of stage magicians] 1. v ... ..
http://www.antionline.com/jargon/handwave.php, score=22, date indexed=December 9, 2005, 9:35 am

Handwave Products
...Handwave Products ... Poplet and iShortcut are trademarks of Handwave Inc. Palm Computing, ... ..
http://www.handwave.com/handwaveproducts.html, score=21, date indexed=December 29, 2005, 6:33 pm

handwave
...handwave. handwave: [poss. from gestures characteristic of stage ... Boy, what a handwave!". If someone starts a sentence with "Clearly ... ..
http://sunsite.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/jargon300/handwave.html, score=20, date indexed=December 3, 2005, 11:16 pm

handwave definition of handwave in computing dictionary - by the Free Online ...
...Meaning of handwave computer term. What does handwave mean? ... handwave - [possibly from gestures characteristic of stage magicians] ... ..
http://computing-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/handwave, score=19, date indexed=December 20, 2005, 4:41 pm

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