weasel word

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The Word of the Day for January 18 is:=20

weasel word   \WEE-zul-WURD\   noun
          : a word used in order to mislead a person or to avoid a strai=
ght answer
=20

Example sentence:
          Instead of just saying outright that jobs are going to be cut,=
 the head of the company has taken to using weasel words like "corporate=
 restructuring."

Did you know?
          Some people believe that weasels can suck the insides out of a=
n egg without damaging the shell. An egg thus weasel-treated would look =
fine on the outside, but it would actually be empty and useless. We don'=
t know if weasels can really do that, but the belief that they could cau=
sed people to start using "weasel word" to refer to any term intended to=
 give the impression that everything is fine when the speaker is really =
trying to avoid answering a question, telling the truth, or taking the b=
lame for something.





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