if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull
if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull 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.
Phrase
if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull
- 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.
- 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.1958, Pacific Northwest Advisory Board, 100th Regular Meeting, page 10
- 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.1984, Roy Meador, Guidelines for preparing proposals, →ISBN
Examples of if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull in a sentence
- If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull !2006, Raymond A. Heninger, Without Honor, →ISBN, page 78:
- Fields, who asserted: 'If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull."2009, John Farndon, Do You Think You're Clever?, →ISBN:
- If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull.2012, Christine Flynn, Finally His Bride, →ISBN:
Forms of if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull
| alternative form | if you can't dazzle them with your brilliance, blind them with bullshit |
|---|
Origin of if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull
Misattributed to W.C. Fields. Original source unknown.
Questions about if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull
- What does if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull mean?
- If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull means 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.
- How do you use if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull in a sentence?
- If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull !
- What part of speech is if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull?
- If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull is a phrase.
Words near if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull in the dictionary
- if you ask me
- if you believe everything you read, better not to read
- if you build it, they will come
- if you can't beat them, eat them
- if you can't beat them, join them
- if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull
- if you can't dazzle them with your brilliance, blind them with bullshit
- if you can't do the time, don't do the crime
- if you can't lick them, join them
- if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen
- if you don't ask, you don't get
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/if_you_can%27t_dazzle_them_with_brilliance%2C_baffle_them_with_bull. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.