Weasel Words

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Weasel words are words which are slipped into a sentence and cause the illusion that the sentence really says something, but in reality it says nothing at all. For instance, "Cascade leaves dishes virtually spotless." It looks like it's saying that your dishes will be about 99% spotless. But the word "virtually" really means "not the same as." So the sentence says, "Cascade leaves dishes spotted." That's not much of a claim, is it?

Explanation:

The term "weasel word" was coined by President Theodore Roosevelt. He observed that the weasel has the clever ability to evacuate the contents of an egg while leaving the shell completely intact. This makes it appear that there is a complete egg, when in reality it is completely empty. Likewise, certain words have this same affect on claims. It looks like a meaningful claim, but it is really devoid of any real meaning.

Examples:

(i) Crest helps fight tooth decay. ("Helps" qualifies whatever comes after it. It really means "it can't hurt.")

(ii) Our cough medicine acts fast. (How fast? This doesn't mean anything.)

(iii) Save up to 50%. ("Up to" means anything from 0% to 50%.)

(iv) Magnavox gives you more. (More what?)

(v) Makes wrinkles almost disappear. (In other words, your wrinkles won't disappear.)

Proof:

Show that the claim can mean something other than what they want you to think, and that other meaning isn't so good.

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