educated guess

educated guess

A thoughtful, well-reasoned guess; a guess with some basis in one's knowledge. Class, we've studied cells all semester. Take an educated guess as to what the answer might be.
See also: educated, guess
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

educated guess, an

A speculation based on past experience or knowledge, as in I'm not sure how much meat we need to feed twelve, but I'll make an educated guess and say six pounds . [Mid-1900s]
See also: educated
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

an ˌeducated ˈguess

a guess made on the basis of facts, good information, etc., and so probably fairly accurate: I can’t tell you exactly how much the building work will cost, but I can make an educated guess.
See also: educated, guess
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • an educated guess
  • educated guess, an
  • at a guess
  • a stab in the dark
  • what do I know
  • What does (one) know?
  • take a guess
  • make a guess
References in periodicals archive
David Janda made an educated guess: A softer ball doesn't reduce fatal chest-impact injuries.
Life saver: can a softer baseball prevent a rare but lethal sports injury? To find out, a researcher goes to bat with the scientific method. (The Scientific Method)
State your hypothesis, an educated guess about what the results of your experiment will be.
Spiking soda
State your hypothesis, an educated guess about your research question.
Science never tasted so sweet: your favorite treat could be your meal ticket to a great science experiment
Based on this research and her own knowledge, VanHeest then stated her hypothesis - an educated guess about what the answer to her research question might be.
Science experiments make a splash; a look at sports science will improve your science-project technique
Regardless of pedigree, nobody truly knows what will happen, so all we can do is hazard a pretty educated guess.
Boro's promotion odds shortened
You probably could have just taken an educated guess instead, Cherry.
Inside The Factory, BBC2: *** []
It's so rare that everything we're being told is just an educated guess. We're trying to focus on that."
Chemo is making it hard to sing
The yearbook quote reads: "Now you can call me Madison Hypothesis, because I'm an educated Guess."
Guessing the joke
The educated guess is that the maximum crowd, on average, will be about 7,000.
Groundshare leads to some questions
It was just "an educated guess." After receiving flak, presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo clarified his earlier statement that the government's list of narco politicians was based on technical surveillance, including the possibility of wiretapping.
Panelo claims wiretapping for narco list just 'an educated guess'
My statement is based on logic, on educated guess, on what is happening on the world today...as far as I know walang nagpo-provide sa atin ng information,' Panelo said.
Panelo recants: No foreign wiretaps used in 'narcolist' data
Since number of invitees are not known, an educated guess can easily place it at over 600.
Kalim Farooqi annual dinner was great gathering
'In terms of actual deadline, ASAP, but f you have to make an educated guess, it would be the whole of this year or next year, if you want everyone satisfied.'
Philippines-China framework deal on hydrocarbons nears completion-D.F.A
On the word "theory", it's sometimes believed this means an educated guess. However, in science the word is used differently.
Darwin's theory based on solid evidence
"The show covers a mixture of tediously familiar ground (going to Eton, love of quizzing, insecurity about not knowing stuff about politics and other adult business), with a couple of thrilling new flourishes - an attempt to name as many UK MPs as I can in a minute, and a teenage appearance on the Weakest Link," he says of the show, entitled Educated Guess.
Eton-educated comic's got some amazing 'local bantz' Oxford University anguage graduate Ivo Graham tells DAVE FREAK why he'll never be the next Eddie Izzard