Language: Lexicographic v. Stipulative Meanings

Weasel Words, Part 2 to blupete's Essay
"Language: Lexicographic v. Stipulative Meanings"

A weasel has a reputation of being able to remove the contents out of an egg without, seemingly, leaving a mark on the egg, he can some how suck them dry through one of two small holes that he makes. Shakespeare made reference to this marvelous feat in his play, As You Like It, "He can suck melancholy out of a song, as a weasel can suck eggs." So, when a weasel is finished with an egg one has something that may look like an egg but which is devoid of any content. Some words used by people are just like these eggs, a word with no meaning, a word employed so as to eliminate all implications that challenge one's ideological premises.

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2011 (2019)