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Beware of "Weasel Words"




"Weasel words weasel word
n.
An equivocal word used to deprive a statement of its force or to evade a direct commitment.



[From the weasel's habit of sucking the contents out of an egg without breaking the shell.
" have commonly come to be known as words and phrases Words and Phrases®

A multivolume set of law books published by West Group containing thousands of judicial definitions of words and phrases, arranged alphabetically, from 1658 to the present.
 which might seem to be meaningful on the surface, but can be shown to have no real meaning at all, after closer scrutiny.

The intent of a user of weasel words is for the listener or reader to hear or read something that they never said or wrote, or something far beyond it. That way, the user cannot be held responsible for their deceit Deceit
Aimwell

pretends to be titled to wed into wealth. [Br. Lit.: The Beaux’ Stratagem]

Ananias

lies about amount of money received for land. [N.T.: Acts 5:1–6]

Ananias Club

all its members are liars. [Am.
, because they can always make the point that that they never said or wrote ""abc" or "xyz." In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke"
put differently
, the use of weasel words is a form of legal deception deception n. the act of misleading another through intentionally false statements or fraudulent actions. (See: fraud, deceit) . For the full meaning of "weasel words" and many examples, see the entry in Wikipedia The world's largest encyclopedia available on the Web at www.wikipedia.com. Using wiki software, Jimmy Wales started Wikipedia in 2001. By the end of 2005, there were 1.8 million entries in more than 100 languages on every conceivable subject, written and edited by hundreds of thousands .

These words and phrases are commonly used by businesses trying to sell a product, dishonest automobile dealers and real estate agents, politicians, and anyone else intent on deception. A common example of weasel words can be found in the typical ad for a pain reliever. The ad might say something like this: "No other leading brand of pain reliever has been proven to be more effective than Brand X." Can you recognize the weasel words in that ad? The creator of this ad wants you to think it said that Brand X has been proven to be the most effective of all the leading pain relievers. But that's not what it said. In fact, it really didn't say anything at all, with the possible exception of Brand X being proven to be no worse (or no better) than the other leading pain relievers.   

 

Copyright 2007 CommenTerry
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Author:Terry Mitchell
Publication:CommenTerry
Date:Feb 7, 2007
Words:266
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