poor proxy for

USAGE SUMMARY

"poor proxy for" is a perfectly acceptable phrase in written English.
You can use it when comparing something (or someone) to another thing (or person) that may not accurately reflect the same qualities or abilities. For example: "A standardized test score is a poor proxy for a student's actual knowledge and skills."

✓ Grammatically correct

Science

News & Media

Formal & Business

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

But income alone is a poor proxy for social class.

The New York Times

Self-confidence is a poor proxy for competence.

Harvard Business Review

Current employment status serves as a poor proxy for successful job performance".

The New York Times

(The tax on the most expensive plans is a poor proxy for such necessary reform).

The Economist

The editorial cites studies suggesting that income is a poor proxy for race, which is true.

The New York Times

The large number of bytes being shifted by Netflix is a poor proxy for that detailed picture.

The Guardian - Tech

Thus, actual sales are a poor proxy for the ideal explanatory variable, predicted sales, leading to measurement error.

Harvard University

They have provided a poor proxy for the economy for investors keen to take a stake in China's rise.

The Economist

Educational qualifications may be relatively easy to measure, but offer only a poor proxy for human capital.

The Economist

Through this work we hope to understand where GDP is a poor proxy for a region's quality of life or its social progress".

The Guardian

The number of times a paper is cited is a poor proxy for its impact (see P. Stephan et al. Nature 544, 411 412; 2017).

Nature

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Avoid using "poor proxy for" when a direct measure is readily available; opt for the most accurate representation possible.

Common error

Avoid implying any correlation between the proxy and the intended measure. Instead, highlight the discrepancies and limitations of using the proxy.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "poor proxy for" functions as a qualifier, specifically an adjective phrase, to describe the relationship between two entities where one is being used as a substitute or representation of the other, but is inadequate or inaccurate in that role. Ludwig's examples illustrate contexts where certain measures are unreliable replacements for what they aim to represent.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

Science

44%

News & Media

41%

Academia

9%

Less common in

Formal & Business

6%

Reference

0%

Wiki

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "poor proxy for" serves to express the inadequacy of one thing as a substitute or representation for another. Ludwig AI confirms that this is grammatically correct and suitable for various contexts, with a higher prevalence in scientific and news media as confirmed by Ludwig's examples. When using this phrase, it's crucial to clearly define both the flawed substitute and the ideal measure it falls short of representing. Alternatives such as "inadequate substitute for" or "unreliable measure of" can be used depending on the specific nuances you wish to convey.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

inadequate substitute for

Emphasizes the lack of suitability as a replacement.

weak indicator of

Highlights the unreliable nature of the measurement.

unreliable measure of

Focuses on the inaccuracy of the assessment.

imperfect representation of

Suggests that the substitute doesn't fully capture the original's essence.

deficient stand-in for

Indicates the substitute is lacking in key qualities.

flawed surrogate for

Highlights the presence of errors or weaknesses in the substitute.

limited gauge of

Implies the measurement only provides a partial understanding.

misleading metric for

Focuses on the potential for the substitute to lead to incorrect conclusions.

tenuous approximation of

Suggests the substitute is only loosely related to the original.

rough estimation of

Indicates a lack of precision in the substitution.

FAQs

How can I use "poor proxy for" in a sentence?

You can use "poor proxy for" to indicate that one thing does not accurately represent another. For example, "Income is often a "poor proxy for" social class".

What are some alternatives to "poor proxy for"?

Some alternatives include "inadequate substitute for", "weak indicator of", or "unreliable measure of" depending on the specific context.

Is it better to say "poor proxy of" or "poor proxy for"?

"Poor proxy for" is the correct and more commonly used prepositional phrase. "Poor proxy of" is less idiomatic.

What makes something a "poor proxy for" something else?

A measure is considered a ""poor proxy for"" something else when it does not accurately reflect the qualities, characteristics, or values of what it is intended to represent, leading to potentially misleading conclusions.