unk-unk

n. especially in engineering, something, such as a problem, that has not been and could not have been imagined or anticipated; an unknown unknown. Subjects: English, Science

Editorial Note: The Barnhart Dictionary of New English Since 1963 (Barnhart/Harper & Row, New York, 1973) gives this term as a plural and defines it as “a series of unknowns, especially of inexplicable calamities.” The term is now common as a singular and has spread from the aerospace engineering business to be used in military, government, and corporate environments. The two letter Ks are not silent as they would be in unknown, but are audible and hard, as in the end of drunk.

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Citations: 1969 Harold B. Jyers Fortune (Aug.) “For Lockheed Everything’s Coming Up Unk-Unks” p. 77 @ Urban Establishment (Mar. 1, 1982) Frederic Cople Jaher p. 703: (title) 1970 Time (Mar. 9) “Aerospace: End of the Gravy Years” p. 63: Aerospace-men have come down with a severe case of what they call the “unk-unks"—the “unknown unknowns.” 1980 New York Times (Dec. 17) “The Vague General Haig” p. A34: There is an old Navy term for the truly imponderable: UNK-UNK for unknown-unknown. Of the ten men Mr. Reagan has nominated so far, Mr. Donovan stands out as the “UNK-UNK” of the team. This is not to say that he cannot do a good job—only that he lacks evident qualifications. 1985 U.S. News & World Report (Dec. 9) “‘Unk-Unks’ and ‘Golden Arches’: The New Lingo of Star Wars” p. 49: Many phrases, in fact, were culled from books and movies that depict imaginary space battles and often describe “unk-unks”—the “unknown unknowns” that no one can predict but seem likely to occur. 1994 Robert J. Thomas What Machines Can’t Do (Mar. 1) p. 149: What caused most apprehension, however, was what aircraft designers refer to as the “unk-unks,” the unknown-unknowns, the problems you cannot anticipate because you don’t even know they exist. 2002 Alexander Kossiakoff Systems Engineering (Nov. 15) p. 82: Many unknowns are evident at the beginning, and may be called “known unknowns.” These are identified early as potential problem areas and are therefore singled out for examination and resolution.…However, many other problem areas are only identified later when they are discovered during system development. These unanticipated problems are often identified as “unknown unknowns” are “unk-unks” to distinguish them from the group of “known unknowns” that were recognized at the outset and dealt with.

Posted 12 Aug 05 | Permalink | Tell a Friend

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