Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.48 in modern English

Syllables: if y-ou -can't -daz-zle them with- bril-liance, baf-fle them with- bull
IPA

114

Scrabble Score

51

Letters

9

Syllables

18

Unique Chars

Meaning

phrase

When one doesn't have all the facts or have a brilliant explanation, one can often convince people or win an argument by using nonsense.

Slang

Example Sentences

"I said, "What do you do, Bill?" He says "Well, if I can't dazzle them with my brilliance I baffle them with my bull," and doggone if he doesn't."
"The maxim that "if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull" won't serve. An artful proposal may sometimes win a grant for a less than brilliant project, but a rare exception doesn't make a rule."
"This is where the opposing attorney would love to hammer you in a lie in an effort to offset or divert attention to their less than honest descriptions of whatever the issue you are at the time discussing. If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull !"
"If so, there's no better recipe than that of W.C. Fields, who asserted: 'If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull.""
"As Skip had always heard “If you can't dazzle them with brilliance baffle them with bull” is a pretty effective way out of a tight spot."
"If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull. The phrase her mentor liked to quote had actually been a bit more descriptive than that, but it was the philosophy that was important."

Etymology

Misattributed to W.C. Fields. Original source unknown.

Usage

Slang

Inflected Forms

if you can't dazzle them with your brilliance, blind them with bullshit (alternative)

Questions

What does if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull mean?: When one doesn't have all the facts or have a brilliant explanation, one can often convince people or win an argument by using nonsense.
Where does if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull come from?: Misattributed to W.C. Fields. Original source unknown.

How to pronounce if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull

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