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Explain How to Build a Wheel

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The act of providing an excruciatingly detailed tutorial on something so fundamentally simple that anyone with basic competence already knows how to do it, usually performed by someone who just learned it themselves and is desperate to feel useful. This phrase is invoked when someone tries to teach you something you've been doing successfully for years, or when a corporate training session covers material that could have been an email. It's the pedagogical equivalent of explaining how to breathe—technically informative, practically useless, and slightly insulting. The subtext is always "I assume you're an idiot," delivered with a smile and a PowerPoint.
Explain How to Build a Wheel Example: "The new software trainer spent an hour explaining how to build a wheel—literally walking us through how to click the 'new document' button, save a file, and use the undo function. We've all been using computers since the 90s. Twenty people silently screamed into their coffee mugs while the trainer beamed, proud of their thoroughness."
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Explain what a wheel is, how a wheel works, and how to build a wheel

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The act of wasting time and resources explaining something so fundamentally basic that anyone with half a brain already understands it, usually performed by someone who thinks they're being helpful but is actually being condescending. This phrase is invoked when someone launches into a lengthy tutorial on a topic that everyone in the room already mastered in kindergarten. It's the verbal equivalent of mansplaining, but for basic concepts. The classic response to "let me explain how this works" when you've been doing it successfully for decades. Also used in corporate settings when a new hire spends an hour explaining their "innovative" idea that's literally just how things are already done.
Example: "My new coworker spent 20 minutes explaining what a PDF is during the meeting. I wanted to say, 'Dude, we don't need you to explain what a wheel is, how a wheel works, and how to build a wheel—just attach the file and send it.' But I smiled and nodded, because that's what you do when someone is trying to be helpful but is actually wasting everyone's time."
More from Urban Dictionary

Overstand 

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To understand a topic or statement to the highest extent.
Leroy, after being told the tenth time by his sister, did overstand her idea of robbing the 7-11.
Overstand by Elf Eater March 23, 2003
Word of the Day on August 20, 2026

minimap 

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A map that mostly tells you where everything is
Friend 1: Follow me there is a player nearby
Friend 2: How do you know?
Friend 1: Minimap
minimap by LeWord January 13, 2015
Word of the Day on August 19, 2026

Pink Cloud

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12 step recovery jargon referring to someone new who talks about how great life is, now that they're sober. Usually meaning that the person is out of touch with reality.
The new guy seems pretty happy for a dude who has no job, no money and no family. He must be on a pink cloud.
Pink Cloud by toniwithaneye November 24, 2006
Word of the Day on August 18, 2026

Dotard 

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An aging individual who has long lost the ability to make rational sense.
That dotard is going to get us all blown up, if he doesn't calm down .
Dotard by anonymous September 22, 2017
Word of the Day on August 17, 2026

Chancla

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The deadliest weapon known to a Latin kid; a flying slipper/ flip-flop.
My mom hit me with a chancla.
Chancla by TardisBae October 31, 2014
Word of the Day on August 16, 2026

Striver 

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The striver is an interesting phenomenon that is seen across college campuses. In essence, the striver is an over-achiever who comes from a working or middle class family. He may be an immigrant. He may have been a slacker in HS who was "born again" into an academic wunderkind. Or he may just be an over-achiever who is keeping at it.

The striver is willing to sacrifice his social life at the expense of Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude. The striver is the guy who stays at the library long after you are gone. The striver is the guy who takes 30 credits/semester and considers anything below an A/4.0 failure. The striver doesn't work on campus, he is too busy finding ways to pad his resume instead of working retail or workstudy. The striver lets his grades pay his education by applying to ten scholarships a year.

The striver is a future Soros/Fullbright/Rhodes/Gates/Marshall/etc. fellow. The striver lives to study. For the striver, their fun comes from the rewards they expect to receive in return for their diligence. Be it Law School, B-School, academia, or politics. The striver seeks to find the American Dream through academic success.
Anthony was a striver. He transfered from a TTT to an IVY and graduated in 2 years. He studied his ass off and went to Penn Law. He got a Biglaw offer. But lost it all because of an unmoderated mesasgeboard.

Successful strivers:
- Barack Obama
- Harold Koh
Striver by URM Striver January 3, 2009
Word of the Day on August 15, 2026
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