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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 are words or phrases that seemingly support statements without attributing opinions to verifiable sources. Here are some dictionary definitions of "weasel words": "intentionally evasive or misleading speech; equivocation" (Collins English Dictionary) "statements that are intentionally ambiguous or misleading" (Compact OED)
"Assert" is one of those words that is a synonym for say, which introduces a bias to the statement. And in the Wikipedia article on weasel words, "Some people say . . ." is given as one of the weasel terms to avoid. In fact, it's the very first example. I just thought that was kind of funny.
The editors can decide, collectively, what is "generally accepted by them, and then describe that in a guideline, and that is not weasel wording. (Unless the guideline means not generally accepted by editor consensus but by academics at large or something, in which case that WOULD be weasel wording, and indeed be ironically placed).
Coming from the Spanish word "juzgado" which means court of justice, hoosegow was a term used around the turn of the last century to describe a place where drunks in the old west spent a lot of ...
Most appalling, Colombia’s leftist President Gustavo Petro went even further compared Israel with the Nazis, says Andres Oppenheimer | Opinion
Some people say the quintessential example of weasel words is the phrase "Some people say". Some encyclopedias have style guides entitled avoid weasel words which strongly discourage the use of weasel words. However, there are editors [who?] who think that weasel words are helpful and absolutely appropriate in some cases. These editors believe ...