dot-connector
nounEtymology From connect the dots.
1
One who connects the dots.
- Williams had a secret two-hour session with the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday evening and was on Capitol HIll yesterday for more closed-door sessions. We never saw his face. The Phoenix warning is a profound embarrassment to the intelligence bureaucracy, and Williams is probably lucky to have his job. Let us hope we get the chance to see and hear him. Dot-connectors are hard to find.2002 May 23, Mary McGrory, “The Man Behind The Memo”, in The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 04 Feb 2026:
- Analysts, those dot-connectors who since 9/11 have been touted as equal partners in the FBI's counterterrorism mission, are still relegated to "professional support staff," alongside auto mechanics and janitors.2007 July 8, Amy Zegart, “Our Clueless Intelligence System”, in The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 04 Feb 2026:
4 more examples
- He was the best dot-connector around, as he opened rich veins of truth-telling not yet fully mined.2011 March 13, Barbara Allen Kenney, “Farewell, Frank Rich”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, published 14 March 2011, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 18 Mar 2011:
- The restaurant-held book bash predictably drew many friends and kin of Ruby Watchco, plus various dot-connectors from the food and media spheres.2012 January 18, Shinan Govani, “Shinan: Chef Lynn Crawford has a new book out, but zero dinner party invitations”, in National Post, Toronto, Ont.: Postmedia Network Canada Corp., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 04 Feb 2026:
- He believes there should be special grants and incentives for medical students and others to learn to be generalists - to be dot-connectors, or conciliators of specialties and of data.2012 April 12, David Ewing Duncan, “Come Together, Right Now: The Desperate Need for Integration in Biomedicine”, in James Bennet, editor, The Atlantic, Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 13 Apr 2012:
- I would love to see those in power be brave enough to rip up the rule books of the systems restricting progression and rewrite the rules so that we reward the dot-connectors – and research once again becomes about creativity and discovery.2014 May 30, anonymous academic, “Academics Anonymous: break down barriers between disciplines”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 31 Aug 2014: