from typing import Any


def is_numeric_scalar(x: Any) -> bool:
    """
    Returns if the given item is numeric
    >>> is_numeric_scalar("hello")
    False
    >>> is_numeric_scalar("234")
    True
    >>> is_numeric_scalar("1e-5")
    True
    >>> is_numeric_scalar(2.5)
    True
    """
    if isinstance(x, (float, int)):
        return True
    elif isinstance(x, str):
        try:
            _ = float(x)
            return True
        except ValueError:
            return False
    return False