rocket scientist

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English[edit]

WOTD – 12 April 2023

Etymology[edit]

From rocket +‎ scientist.[1][2]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

rocket scientist (plural rocket scientists) (informal)

  1. An aerospace engineer.
    • 1940 August, “Seeking Power for Space Rockets”, in H[enry] H[aven] Windsor, editor, Popular Mechanics Magazine, volume 74, number 2, Chicago, Ill.: Popular Mechanics Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 119A, column 1:
      Rocket scientists have calculated that a velocity of seven miles per second, or approximately 25,000 miles per hour, would be necessary for a rocket to escape the earth's gravity.
    • 1946, Joint Board on Scientific Information Policy for Office of Scientific Research and Development, War Department, Navy Department, “Specialized Uses of Rockets”, in U.S. Rocket Ordnance: Development and Use in World War II, [Washington, D.C.]: U.S. Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 56:
      These rocket scientists constitute a valuable nucleus for carrying the peacetime development programs of the Army and Navy.
    • 2006, Gerard J. Degroot, “What are We Waiting for?”, in Dark Side of the Moon: The Magnificent Madness of the American Lunar Quest, New York, N.Y., London: New York University Press, →ISBN, page 29:
      "There was hardly a German sufficiently competent to talk about the V-2 and other big stuff," Grigory Tokady, a Russian rocket scientist sent to investigate immediately after the German defeat, later revealed.
    • 2007, James Longuski, “Do a Sanity Test”, in The Seven Secrets of How to Think Like a Rocket Scientist, New York, N.Y.: Copernicus Books, Springer Science+Business Media, →ISBN, part IV (Check), page 73:
      When a rocket scientist does a sanity test, he's pinching himself back into reality and asking if what he has done adds up. […] By writing equations and sorting the symbols by the rules of algebra, the rocket scientist can predict how high and how fast the rocket will go and when it will get to its destination, which could be as far away as Pluto—4 billion miles from the sun.
    • 2013, Steven [James] Lambakis, “In Space is Our Trust: How and Why Does Space Impact the United States?”, in On the Edge of Earth: The Future of American Space Power, Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky, →ISBN, part 1 (The Vital Force), page 9:
      By the 1940s, his work in this area was so advanced that German rocket scientist Wernher von Braun remarked that "[Robert Hutchings] Goddard's experiments in liquid fuel saved us years of work, and enabled us to perfect the V-2 years before it would have been possible."
  2. (hyperbolic, idiomatic, chiefly in the negative) One qualified to handle or understand things which are very complex or confusing; a very intelligent person.
    Synonyms: brain surgeon, Einstein, genius, (humorous) rocket surgeon; see also Thesaurus:genius, Thesaurus:intelligent person
    Antonyms: see Thesaurus:idiot
    You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see that that idea won’t work.
    • 1989 fall, Gary G. Geilenfeldt, “Initial Support or Initial Shock”, in The DISAM Journal of International Security Assistance Management, volume 12, number 1, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Oh.: Defense Institute of Security Assistance Management, →OCLC, page 100:
      "OK," you say, "I understand that definition and although I'm not a rocket scientist, it appears to make sense. What else is there? I just want a couple of F-16s to go along with my AEGIS Destroyers and Abrams Tanks. Push the button and send the planes."
    • 1998, Allan Blakeney, Sandford Borins, “Choosing a Cabinet”, in Political Management in Canada: Conversations on Statecraft, 2nd edition, Toronto, Ont., Buffalo, N.Y.: University of Toronto Press, →ISBN, part 1 (The Political Dimension), pages 16–17:
      While visiting another province, I remarked that I thought a particular cabinet minister was not exactly a rocket scientist. The reply from a fellow cabinet minister in that province was, 'Yes, I agree. A is not a rocket scientist. But I'm sorry to say that about 25 per cent of the people in this province are decidedly not rocket scientists, and they deserve representation, too.' And that story is only half in jest.
    • 1999 November, Jim Wilson, “Science: Unlocking Einstein’s Brain”, in Joe Oldham, editor, Popular Mechanics, volume 176, number 11, New York, N.Y.: The Hearst Corporation, →ISSN, →OCLC, pages 42 and 44:
      [Sandra] Witelson delved into her collection and retrieved the brains of contributors who were both mentally and physically healthy, with IQs from 107 to 125. No dunces here, but no rocket scientists either.
    • 2000, Rajani Sudan, “Sexy SIMS, Racy SIMMS”, in Beth E. Kolko, Lisa Nakamura, Gilbert B. Rodman, editors, Race in Cyberspace, London: Routledge, →ISBN, page 69:
      It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that as a culture we are obsessed with almost every aspect of technology.
    • 2019 December, Cleo Coyle [pseudonym; Alice Alfonsi and Marc Cerasini], chapter 16, in Brewed Awakening, New York, N.Y.: Berkley Prime Crime, Berkley Books, →ISBN, page 63:
      But then, in my experience, there are no rocket scientists on the NYPD.

Usage notes[edit]

In sense 2 (“one qualified to handle or understand that which is very complex or confusing”), the term is usually used in a negative comparison to show that something is (or should be) obvious, simple, or straightforward.

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

aerospace engineer — see aerospace engineer

References[edit]

  1. ^ “rocket scientist, n.” under “rocket, n.5”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2022.
  2. ^ “rocket scientist, n.”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present, reproduced from Stuart Berg Flexner, editor in chief, Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2nd edition, New York, N.Y.: Random House, 1993, →ISBN.

Further reading[edit]

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