Chewbacca defense

noun

Any legal strategy or propaganda strategy that seeks to overwhelm its audience with nonsensical arguments, as a way of confusing the audience and drowning out legitimate opposing arguments.

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Meanings

nounChewbacca defense (plural Chewbacca defenses)

plural Chewbacca defenses

  1. humorouslawAny legal strategy or propaganda strategy that seeks to overwhelm its audience with nonsensical arguments, as a way of confusing the audience and drowning out legitimate opposing arguments.

    But at this point John Taylor, at least — and I believe he's not alone — has gone full Chewbacca defense.

    2013 July 12, Paul Krugman, “The Monetary Debate: Enter Chewbacca”, The Conscience of a Liberal, in The New York Times

Origin

Chewbacca (a character from the 1977 film Star Wars) + defense; coined in "Chef Aid", a 1998 episode of South Park.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Chewbacca defense. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chewbacca%20defense

MLA

“Chewbacca defense.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chewbacca%20defense. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Chewbacca defense,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chewbacca%20defense.

Source: Chewbacca defense on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.