Weasel Words: The Dictionary of American Doublespeak (Capital Ideas)
“Given the frequency of weasel words in all forms of media, copies of this reasonably priced volume for the reference desk and the reference shelves would be a good investment.”“From ‘abdominal protector’ to ‘zippies,’ this little dictionary is a delightful take on modern American culture . . . With a sharp political eye and ample wit, Wasserman and Hausrath zero in on the misnomers, euphemisms, evasions and simple flim-flam that litter contemporary political an professional discourse.”“Paying homage to George Orwell’s doublethink and newspeak, Wasserman(emeritus, information sciences, U. of Maryland) and Haurath (retired,Senior Foreign Service) decipher terms—such as abdominal protector, axisof evil, and zippies—that are misleading, euphemistic, misnomers, politicallycorrect, or trendy. Weasel word is not defined, but one readily getsthe idea. Indexing is by terms in areas from business to science and technology.”"In ‘Weasel Words: The Dictionary of American Doublespeak,’ University of Maryland professors Paul Wasserman and Don Hausrath shine the spotlight on language that obscures rather than illuminates.""An entertaining guide to the culture and politics of the day.""For those who are tired of incomprehensibility, there is a new handy reference book: ‘Weasel Words: The Dictionary of American Doublespeak’ by Paul Wasserman and Don Hausrath. This book, if used properly, should make you think twice before saying ‘pre-owned,’ instead of ‘used,’ or speaking of people who have a ‘credibility gap,’ instead of calling them liars.""There is a new book out titled ‘Weasel Words.’ It is an attempt to deconstruct ‘doublespeak.’ The authors, Paul Wasserman and Don Hausrath explain the distortions and marketplace flim-flam that inundates our language.""Decoding doublespeak...George Orwell coined the term ‘doublethink,’ which means the ability to believe contradictory ideas simultaneously. ‘Doublespeak,’ as authors Paul Wasserman and Don Hausrath explain in their new book, ‘Weasel Words: The Dictionary of American Doublespeak,’ connotes ‘distortions and obfuscations and marketplace flim-flam.’ These two men, who've both taught at the University of Maryland, give Orwell his due. From the hundreds of words and phrases so expertly redacted by Wasserman and Hausrath, here's a partial list in three arbitrary areas: computers, work and war.""One of the most disturbing recent words, says Wasserman, is "extraordinary rendition," which the authors define as 'The Bush II Administration's name for outsourcing of torture by using U.S. agents to take alleged terrorists to countries outside the footprint of U.S. legislation.' Using slogans and broad abstractions to cloak reality isn't a recent government ploy, but Wasserman says it happens more frequently now. 'Part of the problem is that it has become so commonplace and (the population) has become immune to it. We take the terms that have no meaning or very little meaning and accept them instead of asking for the truth.'""Most of its entries are...slogans and buzzwords. But the book does list some whopping examples of jargon, from ‘approved interrogation techniques’ (which means ‘legal torture,’ the authors say) to ‘zone of proximal development (ZPD),’ a category covering what a child cannot do without adult guidance – ‘such as riding a bicycle,’ the authors say, ‘or wearing sensible clothes.’""It skewers politicians and journalists, military leaders and academics, for filling - or as the dictionary might have it, ‘cross-pollinating’ - their speech with phrases that mean nothing....One thing is for sure: anyone who reads 'Weasel Words' will find himself well-equipped to avoid clichés like the plague."