MathPlus's definitions
The artistic equivalent of ordering a McDonald’s meal instead of going through the hassle of doing your own cooking at home.
Just as you can enjoy the food prepared by a gourmet chef even if you’re a hopeless cook, so you can appreciate a piece of art even if you’re clumsy at handling a “Paint by Numbers” kit.
by MathPlus January 8, 2019
Get the Paint by Numbersmug. Donald Trump’s pet word for any article or broadcast that exposes his white lies and shady deals, or for anyone who refuses to make him appear smarter or richer than he genuinely is.
Thanks to President Trump, “fake news” will probably be his most memorable presidential legacy long after he’s been impeached and imprisoned for branding that phrase in popular culture.
by MathPlus February 1, 2019
Get the Fake Newsmug. When some math geeks celebrate their birthday by having each half of their cake cut into four pieces, with three of them each having an arc length equal to the radius of the cake.
by MathPlus February 6, 2021
Get the Pi Slices of Piemug. The sociological equivalent of “Women Are Crazy, Men Are Stupid”—the unspoken observation about two neighboring frenemies, who are afraid of losing out and who are afraid of dying.
The foreign publisher is consulting its lawyers on whether the Singapore government might ban the sale of “Singaporeans Are Kiasu, Malaysians Are Kiasi,” which pokes fun at the idiocies and idiosyncrasies of Singaporeans and Malaysians.
by MathPlus June 22, 2018
Get the Singaporeans Are Kiasu, Malaysians Are Kiasimug. Someone who grudgingly wears a face mask in public after being fined at least once for failing to do so previously.
After being fined $300 for her first offense and $1,000 for her second offense for refusing to wear a mask in public, Arna is now a repentant maskhøle, who has been
warned that a third offense would land her behind bars.
warned that a third offense would land her behind bars.
by MathPlus March 13, 2021
Get the MASKHØLEmug. Short for “Singapore’s Gifted Education Programme,” that has sulked up so much taxpayers’ money, yet has achieved so little—an elitist programme that equates high academic achievement with giftedness.
At best, Singapore’s GEP—every parent’s secret desire for their child to get into it—creates the illusion of nurturing individual creativity, when it actually breeds conformity and produces academic snobbery among its members.
by MathPlus October 24, 2018
Get the Singapore’s GEPmug. A “tuition nation” where your grade six exam score more or less determines your future—the fear of failing and not getting into a school of choice reduces your chances of a decent or quality education, because the top or popular schools have “better teachers” and more resources.
Because of its high-stakes exams, Singapore is probably the world’s most stressful country for a child to experience a normal childhood—and she will be at a disadvantage if her parents can’t afford to send her for private tuition.
by MathPlus July 11, 2018
Get the Singaporemug.