Reviewer 2

Definition

A semi-mythical antagonist in academic publishing who provides the most hostile, pedantic, or unreasonable peer review comments, often demanding impossible revisions or missing the paper's point entirely. Every author has a Reviewer 2 horror story.

Example Usage

Reviewer 1 and 3 recommended acceptance, but Reviewer 2 wants us to rewrite the entire theoretical framework.

Origin

Academic publishing culture, became a meme in the 2010s

Fun Fact

The @YourPaperSucks Twitter account and #Reviewer2 hashtag have documented thousands of absurd peer review comments, creating a cathartic community.

Source: Scholarly publishing and peer review culture

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