Texas sharpshooter fallacy

noun

The fallacy of ignoring differences in data while stressing the similarities.

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Meanings

nounTexas sharpshooter fallacy (plural Texas sharpshooter fallacies)

plural Texas sharpshooter fallacies

  1. The fallacy of ignoring differences in data while stressing the similarities.

Origin

After a joke about a Texan who first fires shots at the side of a barn, then paints a target centered on the tightest cluster of hits to illustrate his prowess.

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Cite this entry
APA

Texas sharpshooter fallacy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Texas%20sharpshooter%20fallacy

MLA

“Texas sharpshooter fallacy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Texas%20sharpshooter%20fallacy. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Texas sharpshooter fallacy,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Texas%20sharpshooter%20fallacy.

Source: Texas sharpshooter fallacy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.