Chewbacca defense

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

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Noun

Chewbacca defense (plural Chewbacca defenses)

1. (law, humorous) 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.
   • 2013 July 12, Paul Krugman, “The Monetary Debate: Enter Chewbacca”, The Conscience of a Liberal, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

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

See also

• argumentum ad nauseam
• non sequitur
• red herring
• straw man

Further reading

• Chewbacca defense on Wikipedia.Wikipedia