second guesser

noun

A person who second-guesses.

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Meanings

nounsecond guesser (plural second guessers)

plural second guessers · alternative second-guesser

  1. A person who second-guesses.

    Such a change of heart in MacPhail, or any other second guesser, is unlikely.

    1988 October, George Vass, “World Series: A Magnet for the Second-Guessers”, in Baseball Digest, volume 47, number 10, Lakeside Publishing Company, ISSN 0005-609X, page 21
  2. slangoriginallyball gamesA person, particularly a fan, who questions or criticizes decisions made by the players or managers, especially after the results of those actions are known.

Origin

From second + guesser. First use appears c. 1937. By a back-formation, second-guess as a verb appears a few years later in 1941. From second guess + -er.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

second guesser. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/second%20guesser

MLA

“second guesser.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/second%20guesser. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “second guesser,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/second%20guesser.

Source: second guesser on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.