the.com/unknown quantity
The variable everyone pretends to have already solved for.
means A person or factor whose behavior, abilities, or intentions can't be predicted because there's not enough information about them yet.
from Straight out of algebra, where 'x' or 'y' stands for the value you haven't solved for yet. The phrase jumped from math class into everyday language in the 19th century, applied first to things like untested political candidates or unproven team players — anyone whose 'value' in the equation of a situation was still a blank to be filled in.
- math origin
- Algebra's x, the placeholder before the proof
- job interviews
- Code for someone nobody can vouch for
- sports usage
- Rookie hype disguised as cautious scouting talk
- irony
- Called unknown, yet always secretly feared