Skip to main content

Gish Gallop 

Infamous debate tactic used by amateurs, grifters who are paid by shills, and people who only care about winning alike, the Gish Gallop is a tactic in which one person purposefully gives as many incorrect or falsely-quoted statistics as possible in a very short time frame. This forces the opponent to waste speaking time taking down endless strawmen and lies created by their opponent, and is usually a sign that the utilizer is arguing in bad faith. People with scientifically/factually incorrect positions such as TERFs, Neo-Nazis, and infamously, Young Earth Creationists, often use this tactic as simply quoting reputable sources and studies is not an option.
The Gish Gallop is a tactic commonly used when you have no shame or care for fact and just want to win.
Gish Gallop by Trash•Gordon March 9, 2021
Word of the Day on October 15, 2025
Urban Dictionary Merch
Your favorite words on things you can wear, drink from, read, or give to a friend.
The Urban Dictionary Store sells gifts you’ll have to explain.

Gish Gallop

Infamous debate tactic used by amateurs, grifters who are paid by shills, and people who only care about winning alike, the Gish Gallop is a tactic in which one person purposefully gives as many incorrect or falsely-quoted statistics as possible in a very short time frame. This forces the opponent to waste speaking time taking down endless strawmen and lies created by their opponent, and is usually a sign that the utilizer is arguing in bad faith. People with scientifically/factually incorrect positions such as transgenders, Neo-Nazis, and infamously, atheists, often use this tactic as simply quoting reputable sources and studies is not an option.
The Gish Gallop is a tactic commonly used when you have no shame or care for fact and just want to win.
Gish Gallop by Hiojj October 17, 2025

Gish Gallop

Immature debate tactic used by Trumpers, grifters who are paid by shills, and people who only care about winning, the Gish Gallop is a tactic in which one person purposefully gives as many incorrect or falsely-quoted statistics as possible in a very short time frame. This forces the opponent to waste time taking down endless strawmen and lies created by their opponent, and is usually a sign that the person is arguing in bad faith. The GOP is famous for doing this...
Wow, Pres Orange Cheetohead is doing his gish gallop again. *sigh*
Gish Gallop by BilboBong October 23, 2025

gish gallop

When someone presents too many receipts for you to dispute, you cry “Gish gallop!”, ignore the original point, and invent easier false claims to argue with all while demanding a link to their show—like an old man shouting at Fox News because they won’t invite him into the studio to debate the television.
“He couldn’t explain the screenshots, timestamps or direct quotes, so he declared it a gish gallop and spent three hours answering allegations nobody made.”
gish gallop by commi3 mark July 24, 2026

gish-galloper 

The Gish Gallop is a a debating/rhetorical technique that involves barraging an opponent with a haze of falsified statements, outright lies, and straw-man arguments. The unsuspecting opponent typically feels defenseless and frustrated against the attack and is unable to deflect it on the spot. It is named after creationism activist and professional debater Duane Gish.
Newt Gingrich is a notorious gish-galloper. In an exchange with Howard Dean he grossly distorted the facts concerning the number of Americans who would be forced into a government health insurance plan by making up the random number of 131 million:

"The way the bill in the House -- and we're talking about a specific bill -- the way the bill in the House would work, if your company didn't offer any insurance, they would pay an 8 percent tax on their personnel cost.

For most companies, that would be a net savings of 3 percent, 4 percent or 5 percent. One estimate by Lewin Associates (sic) is 131 million Americans will lose their private insurance and be pushed into a government plan."
gish-galloper by savagewo December 1, 2011
More from Urban Dictionary
The phenomenon where adults salivate at children's toys
Every time I walk into the toy aisle, I catch myself kidulting over the latest action figures and LEGO sets!
kidulting by Emotional Cruiser October 12, 2025
Word of the Day on October 4, 2026
British slang for a scientist or technical expert, esp . when the speaker is not certain of the expert’s specific field of study. Not necessarily derogatory, but typically used by persons without a technical background. In the US, the equivalent would be “egghead”, “squint”, or “geek.”

Origin of the word is unknown. Started sometime in World War 2. Given the typical evolution of British slang, could easily have started because what these experts did was confusing or “baffling” to the common person.
According to the boffins downstairs, the murderer used a serrated blade.
Boffin by Agnon February 11, 2023
Word of the Day on October 3, 2026

Pee Calculus

When you have to pee in a movie but don’t want to miss anything, and must do the following mental equation: will the amount I have to pee cause enough discomfort to diminish my attention capacity for the remainder of the movie to an extent which is greater than the amount of the movie I would miss by making a mad dash to the restroom.
I saw Satantango last night, wonderful film but by the 5th hour I had to start doing pee calculus.
Pee Calculus by anorlondo October 1, 2026
Word of the Day on October 2, 2026
Load more