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Weasel Words
Are you guilty of them from time to time?
What are weasel words? According to Wikipedia, a weasel word is; “ an informal term for a word or words or phrases aimed at creating an impression that something specific and meaningful has been said, when in fact only a vague or ambiguous claim has been communicated.”
Politicians, elected officials, and civil servants are famous for this. An example of a “weasel” statement is the answer to a question from a reporter.
“Does the government plan on calling a snap election in the spring?”
Answer by the politician: “This government has always promised to be forthright with the electorate. Our priority is the well-being of the people and for this reason, we plan on carrying out our mandate as we were provided by the voters in the previous election. If for some reason, the official opposition feels the need to ignore the will of the electorate and displays a lack of confidence in the mandate they provided this government, we will have to bend to the will of the people and yada yada yada and so on.”
No facts! All filler and weasel words. No actual answer to the question.
