24 Apr 22
@mchill saidHow so?
Psychobabble
It's simply the definition of the term "weasel words" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weasel_word
Examples include the phrases "some people say", "most people think", and "researchers believe." Using weasel words may allow one to later deny any specific meaning if the statement is challenged, because the statement was never specific in the first place. Weasel words can be a form of tergiversation and may be used in advertising, (popular) science, opinion pieces and political statements to mislead or disguise a biased view or unsubstantiated claim. Weasel words can harshen or over-state a controversial statement. An example of this is using terms like "somewhat" or "in most respects", which make a sentence more ambiguous than it would be without them.
Using weasel words may allow one to later deny any specific meaning if the statement is challenged, because the statement was never specific in the first place.
I use them sometimes in order to dilute the stridency - or emphasize the subjectivity - of what I am asserting. At times, my use of weasel words is a bit disingenuous and I have been called out for it by posters like Suzianne.
Duchess64 was the absolute Grand Master of the calculated weasel words because she clearly employed them deliberately in order to START arguments where she could immediately insist that she was the victim of pathologically dishonest racist misogynistic Sinophobic rape-apologist fellow posters.
@fmf saidThis is nitpicking. Back in the 70's psychobabble was thrown around liberally by many people to later deny any specific meaning if the statement is challenged, no matter if the statement was specific or not. It's been out of style for a long time, but this does not make it any less of a weasel word.
How so?
It's simply the definition of the term "weasel words" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weasel_word
[i]Examples include the phrases "some people say", "most people think", and "researchers believe." Using weasel words may allow one to later deny any specific meaning if the statement is challenged, because the statement was never specific in the first place. Weasel word ...[text shortened]... the victim of pathologically dishonest racist misogynistic Sinophobic rape-apologist fellow posters.
24 Apr 22
@mchill saidWhoosh
This is nitpicking. Back in the 70's psychobabble was thrown around liberally by many people to later deny any specific meaning if the statement is challenged, no matter if the statement was specific or not. It's been out of style for a long time, but this does not make it any less of a weasel word.
24 Apr 22
I've probably lost count of how many times someone may have said to me, in private if I recall correctly, that, people who shall remain nameless [although they purport to know what they are talking about] lots of them, apparently, no need to say exactly how many - have declared me the winner in every clash I've had on one of the forums, which may or not be this one I am posting on now.
24 Apr 22
@great-big-stees saidLOL@ Stees. Have you ever golfed in the rain? 🙂 😛
Most people are stupid.
-VR