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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 ...
[Weasel words] may legitimately be used in the lead section of an article or in a topic sentence of a paragraph when the article body or the rest of the paragraph can supply attribution. Likewise, views that are properly attributed to a reliable source may use similar expressions, if those expressions accurately represent the opinions of the ...
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 ...
Also apophthegm. A terse, pithy saying, akin to a proverb, maxim, or aphorism. aposiopesis A rhetorical device in which speech is broken off abruptly and the sentence is left unfinished. apostrophe A figure of speech in which a speaker breaks off from addressing the audience (e.g., in a play) and directs speech to a third party such as an opposing litigant or some other individual, sometimes ...
Therefore the right summary for weasel words (which used to be the text of the article) is along the lines of "avoid cloaked implications". --BozMo talk 07:13, 28 June 2012 (UTC) I believe that the essential nature of weasel words is their vagueness: "Some people believe that ____" is weaseling.
The Elements of Style (also called Strunk & White) is a style guide for formal grammar used in American English writing. The first publishing was written by William Strunk Jr. in 1918, and published by Harcourt in 1920, comprising eight "elementary rules of usage," ten "elementary principles of composition," "a few matters of form," a list of 49 "words and expressions commonly misused," and a ...
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.