cold read

cold read (third-person singular simple present cold reads, present participle cold reading, simple past and past participle cold read)

1. (transitive) To infer characteristics of (a person) using cold reading.
   • 2006, Jim Butcher, Dead Beat‎, page 127:

     A few years ago Mort had barely been able to crawl out of his bottle long enough to cold-read credulous idiots into believing he could speak to their dead loved ones.

   • 2011, Dean Amory, Mind Reading - A Practical Introduction‎, page 70:

     Select the person you will "cold read" ahead of time if possible. The more time you have to learn about your subject, the better.

   • 2015, A Piper, “Women's work: The professionalisation and policing of fortune-telling in Australia”, in Labour History: A Journal of Labour and Social History:

     Fortune-tellers were derided as swindlers, their so-called services little better than a form of larceny. Incredulous journalists accused clairvoyants of faking their skills by cold-reading customers or surreptitiously monitoring local gossip that would help impress clients

2. (intransitive) To make inferences about a person using the practice of cold reading.
   • 2004, The Paranormal Review‎, numbers 29-36, page 30:

     In spiritualism research, feedback is often used — this can be interpreted as giving the medium the chance to 'cold read'. However, feedback may be necessary […]

3. (intransitive, transitive, acting, newsreading, education) To perform (a script) without preparation.

   At the audition you will be required to cold read a script.

cold read (plural cold reads)

1. An act of cold reading.

   This is an example of what magicians (and unfortunately phony psychics) call a "cold read".