Weasel wording

[victor steinbok]

... or the story is completely made up, which is why all the
qualifiers are there. If we know that there was an incident that
involved a bullet wound to a deputy sheriff, only "shot" would be
unqualifiedly accurate. The rest--both qualifiers and words that they
qualify--are all questionable, including "by". Then again, maybe
"shot" in not accurate either. Was Reagan shot "by" Hinkley? Was he
"shot" at all? [Actually, this is why I said that "by" is included...]

VS-)

On 5/1/10, Bill Palmer <w_a_palmer at bellsouth.net> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Bill Palmer <w_a_palmer at BELLSOUTH.NET>
> Subject:      Weasel wording
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> CBS News this morning reported on a deputy sheriff in Arizona, =
> "allegedly shot by suspected illegal immigrants".
>
> Maybe one qualifier too many.
>
> Bill Palmer
>
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