internetslangterminology
I've been hearing term "hand-waving" thrown around a lot, especially when my peers describe their CS(computer science) classes. Does anyone know what that term means in this context?
(also a little background on where the term came from would help too!)
- (British slang) another name for a half-crown
Collins Dictionary
Half-crown:
- a former silver or cupronickel coin of Great Britain equal to two shillings and sixpence: use phased out after decimalization in 1971.
(Dictionary.com)
The origin appears to derive from the following historical facts:
It goes back to the Napoleonic Wars. Britain was short of gold and silver coinage because most of it was used to finance the War abroad. Spanish dollars were imported to fill the gap and given the nominal value of 5 shillings, although, despite being about the same size they were actually worth a little less in terms of silver content. Hence, 5/- was a dollar and 2/6 as a half-dollar.
(Oman's History of the Peninsular War)
AFAIK
dob (ODO)
verb [with object]
NZ, Australian
informal
2 (dob something in) Contribute money to a common cause.
‘everyone dobbed in a few dollars’
Origin
1950s: figurative use of dialect dob ‘put down abruptly’, later ‘throw something at a target’.
EDIT
HMS Ark Royal's Royal Naval Slang & Terminology
Mentions only Ickies & Klebbies for Foreign money.
Ditto, Jackspeak: A guide to British Naval slang & usage (GoogleBooks)
Commentary:
I can only extrapolate that dib-dob is no more than fanciful reduplication of dob.
See also:
What is the origin of “dibs”? (ELU)
Best Answer
Wiktionary says it better than I can, describing "hand waving" in this context as:
The phrase is purely idiomatic. Picture the hand gestures of someone speaking on a topic that perhaps is vague or confusing, or of which the speaker is unfamiliar or poorly prepared. Certainly brings back memories of my computer science classes!