estimatemoat
/ˈɛstɪmətˌməʊt/nounVerified NewThe defensive padding built into a work estimate to survive everything the requester has not yet thought of.
A task that takes two days is quoted as five, the extra three being a moat against integration surprises, context switches, and the third revision. Estimatemoats are rational responses to a world in which estimates are read as promises.
Etym. — estimate + moat: fortification around a number. Five syllables, kept so that "estimate" survives whole.
Rel. — fauxline
Novelty check: NEW · checked 2026-11-08
review evidence: wordstoreview/review-batch-3-04-work.md
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Method: Editorial batch review — per-word exact-form web search (WebSearch/Tavily) per docs/REVIEW-criteria.md §2