I disagree. It's not that definitions "fall flat", it's that people don't like the conclusions that are derived from those definitions. If tables are defined as above and are supposed to be taxed at 20% while chairs are taxed at 15%, and someone builds a 1 m-tall chair with three legs and a 1 m^2 seat, that's not in itself a problem. It's only a problem because the government would like that "chair" to be taxed as if it was a table. But a definition can't be incorrect; it's a definition.