What are weasel words?

Answer 1

According to WikiPedia:

Weasel words is an informal term for words and phrases that, whilst communicating a vague or ambiguous claim, create an impression that something specific and meaningful has been said. Weasel words manage to vaguely imply meaning far beyond the claim actually made. For example, weasel words in advertisements may use phrases such as "up to 50% off", which is misleading because it does not say how many items are affected by the headline reduction, but it is implied that many items are affected. Weasel words may also have the effect of softening the force of a potentially loaded or otherwise controversial statement through some form of understatement, for example using detensifiers such as "somewhat" or "in most respects".

Weasel words can be broken down into several categories:

• Numerically vague expressions such as "many" or "experts"
• Using passive voice to try to avoid having to quote specific authorities
• Adverbs which change the meaning of the phrase, such as "probably"
• Vague generalizations instead of specific facts
• Using euphemisms to "soften" the appearance of harsh facts
• Using non-sequiters such as "If you don't buy this brand of dog food, your dog will suffer."

Here are some examples from WikiPedia:

• "People say..." (Which people? How do they know?)
• "It has been claimed that..." (By whom, where, when?)
• "Critics claim..." (Which critics?)
• "Clearly..." (As if the premise is undeniably true)
• "It stands to reason that..." (Again, as if the premise is undeniably true - see "Clearly" above)
• "Questions have been raised..." (Implies a fatal flaw has been discovered)
• "I heard that..." (Who told you? Is the source reliable?)
• "There is evidence that..." (What evidence? Is the source reliable?)
• "Experience shows that..." (Whose experience? What was the experience? How does it demonstrate this?)
• "It has been mentioned that..." (Who are these mentioners? Can they be trusted?)
• "Popular wisdom has it that..." (Is popular wisdom a test of truth?)
• "Commonsense has it/insists that..." (The common sense of whom? Who says so? See "Popular wisdom" above, and "It is known that" below)
• "It is known that..." (By whom and by what method is it known?)
• "Officially known as..." (By whom, where, when - who says so?)
• "It turns out that..." (How does it turn out?)
• "It was noted that..." (A commonly used start of a line by Auditors with poor work papers or little evidence)
• "Our product is so good, it was even given away in celebrity gift bags." (True, perhaps, but not relevant.)
• "See why more of our trucks are sold in Southern California than in any other part of the country." (Southern California is a big vehicle market.)
• "Nobody else's product is better than ours." (What is the evidence of this?)
• "Studies show..." (what studies?)
• "(The phenomenon) came to be seen as..." (by whom?)
• "Some argue..." (who?)
• "Up to sixty percent..." (so, 59%? 50%? 10%?)
• "More than seventy percent...(How many more? 80%? 90%?)
• "The vast majority..." (All, almost all, more than half - how many?)

Weasel words are often used in marketing materials of corporations. Improving your ability to spot weasel words can both improve your abilities as a scholar and make it less likely that companies will be able to rip you off.