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An illustration of a weasel using "weasel words". In this case, "some people" are a vague and undefined authority. In rhetoric, a weasel word, or anonymous authority, is a word or phrase aimed at creating an impression that something specific and meaningful has been said, when in fact only a vague, ambiguous, or irrelevant claim has been communicated.
Weasel words are words and 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. A common form of weasel wording is through vague attribution, where a statement is dressed with authority, yet has no substantial basis. Phrases such as ...
Tag to be placed at the top of an article. Used for articles that employ weasel words too much. Weasel words are are words and phrases aimed at creating an impression that something specific and meaningful had been said, when in fact only a vague or ambiguous claim has been communicated.
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Quite often Wikipedia articles begin with a quick introduction to a subject something like this: War and Peace is widely regarded as Tolstoy's greatest novel.. However, attributing ideas vaguely to consensus opinion has its dangers (and has been derided by some Wikipedians as the use of "peacock terms" in the case of compliments, and "weasel words" more generally).
There's a strong perception here that weasel words are the hallmark of bad writing. I disagree-- I think properly cited weasel words are a hallmark of wonderful writing-- our ability to quickly and succinctly summarize the most relevant trends while sparing our readers an unnecessarily level of detail.
Instead, embrace weasel words, and back those weasel words up with a citation: Bad: His critics have suggested that John Smith may be a functional illiterate. Better: Author Ed Jones, in his book John Smith is an Idiot, wrote an open letter to Smith asking, "John, are you able to read and write on an adult level?'" Best!
The main problem with weasel words is that they interfere with Wikipedia's neutral point of view; but they give rise to other problems too: Uninformative. The purpose of an encyclopaedia is to provide accurate and useful information. Weasel words are imprecise, often inaccurate, and usually uninformative. Wordy. Weasel words are generally just ...