"Hanlon's razor" meaning in English

See Hanlon's razor in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Proper name

Etymology: Named like Occam's razor, for a Robert J. Hanlon. Head templates: {{en-proper noun}} Hanlon's razor
  1. The adage "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." Wikipedia link: Hanlon's razor Translations (Translations): 漢隆剃刀 /汉隆剃刀 (Chinese Mandarin), rasoir d’Hanlon [masculine] (French)
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          "ref": "1980 October, G. Gordon Liddy, quotee, “Playboy Interview: G. Gordon Liddy”, in Playboy, volume 27, number 10, Chicago, →ISSN, page 211:",
          "text": "McCord may have bungled the taping of the internal doors, all right, but remember Hanlon's Razor, which is a maxim that states: \"Never blame on malice that which can be fully explained by stupidity.\"",
          "type": "quote"
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        "The adage \"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.\""
      ],
      "id": "en-Hanlon's_razor-en-name-4hIR1LpI",
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          "malice"
        ],
        [
          "explain",
          "explain"
        ],
        [
          "stupidity",
          "stupidity"
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      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "word": "漢隆剃刀 /汉隆剃刀"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
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        }
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      ],
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      "word": "漢隆剃刀 /汉隆剃刀"
    },
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      ],
      "word": "rasoir d’Hanlon"
    }
  ],
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}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-01-13 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-01-01 using wiktextract (4ba5975 and 4ed51a5). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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