And just what's wrong with weasels? photo by Susan Alcorn
Recently a hiker by the trailname of "Steel-eye" sent us the following message about weather predictions. His "weather" message may not be of interest to you as writers, but his second message, about "weasel words," was a new one for me and I thought well worth passing on.
Recently a hiker by the trailname of "Steel-eye" sent us the following message about weather predictions. His "weather" message may not be of interest to you as writers, but his second message, about "weasel words," was a new one for me and I thought well worth passing on.
"Some prognosticators suggest that this winter could possibly be somewhat more mild than average in the Pacific Northwest region. Wow! I should be a politician. That first sentence contains nine “weasel-words”, i.e, non-specific equivocations."
Do you use "weasel words" when you write? If so, you are as Wikipedia puts it, "communicating a vague or ambiguous claim, create an impression that something specific and meaningful has been said." They continue, "Weasel words may also have the effect of softening the force of a potentially loaded or otherwise controversial statement through some form of understatement, for example using detensifiers such as "somewhat" or "in most respects". I also learned from Wikipedia why such words are labeled weasel words -- it's because when weasels eat eggs, they suck the contents out of the egg leaving the shell intact.
I doubt that I can escape using "weasel words" entirely -- being a person who usually tries to be tactful rather than blunt, but I am certain that the strongest writers are those who take a firm position rather than sit on the fence. Weasel words weaken your writing; take care to ferret them out!




