Terry Mitchell

20 Non-Specific Words and Phrases



Posted: Friday, March 13, 2009

by Terry Mitchell
http://commenterry.blogs.com

Some words and phrases, by their nature, are generally so non-specific that they regularly render little or no meaning to the hearer or reader. They frequently leave one wondering what exactly a speaker or writer was trying to say.
 
This is not to say that these words and phrases and can never be meaningful. Very often, they can and are. I use them all the time, hopefully in a meaningful way.
Sometimes, though, people use them to attempt to disguise the fact they don't really know what they're talking or writing about. Frequently, they are used as a method to buy time and postpone a meaningful answer, which the speaker or writer is not yet ready to provide.

And at times, they are even used as "weasel words" to, at best, hedge or equivocate, or, at worst, intentionally deceive. I have provided 20 examples below. Hopefully, this will be a thought-provoking exercise, as you take a moment to analyze the way each word or phrase is often used.

1) Soon

2) Well (not the hole in the ground)

3) More than/Less than/As much as/As little as

4) Cheap

5) People are saying/It has been said/Rumor has it

6) White-collar/Blue-collar

7) You know

8) Not quite

9) Open-minded

10) Nothing is better (more effective) than

11) Progressive

12) Special

13) Disturbing

14) Outspoken

15) Non-essential

16) Virtually

17) Eventually

18) Competitive

19) Highest standards of

20) Inappropriate
 
Terry Mitchell is a software engineer, freelance writer, amateur political analyst, and blogger from Virginia, USA. He posts a least one article a day to his blog - http://commenterry.blogs.com - on subjects such as current events, politics, technology, society and culture, religion, health and well-being, self improvement, personal finance, trivia, and sports. He is also the owner of a new privacy-enhanced search engine - http://www.SearchMost.com.

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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)
» left by Dianne Lehmann
 3 years 72 days ago.
137 fans.
Hi Terry.
 
Have you been watching a lot of political speeches lately?
 
Great article,
Dianne
» left by Terry Mitchell 3 years 72 days ago.
93 fans.
Well, Dianne, as a matter of fact I have. And I don't think it's any coincindence that I came up with this list. :-)
» left by Kacy Carr
 3 years 63 days ago.
Hi Terry every word you have listed down here has hit home for me because I tend to use them all the time. Oh how I hate myself. I don`t know about using weasel words but what I do know is - I sure feel like one.
 
Have great day
 
Kacy
» left by Terry Mitchell 3 years 63 days ago.
93 fans.
Kacy, very interesting and yes, I do.
» left by Teresa Ortiz
 3 years 63 days ago.
188 fans.
Hi Terry, good thoughts and so true. Now what am I going to do? You know I am going to have to find a whole new set of words to use.
 
And I agree with Dianne's comment :-)
 
Thanks for another great read. Blessings, Teresa
» left by Terry Mitchell 3 years 62 days ago.
93 fans.
Teresa, I don't think you need a new vocabulary. You seem to handle those words quite well. :-)
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