doublespeak

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doublespeak

Deliberately evasive, confusing, contradictory, and/or ambiguous language used to mislead or deceive the listener. Likely adapted from George Orwell's term "doublethink," from his 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, meaning the ability to simultaneously hold two opposing thoughts or beliefs as being correct in one's mind. Like any successful politician, she was quite adept at doublespeak whenever confronted with bad publicity.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

double talk

1. Meaningless speech, gibberish mixing real and invented words. For example, Some popular songs are actually based on double talk. [1930s]
2. Also, doublespeak. Deliberately ambiguous and evasive language. For example, I got tired of her double talk and demanded to know the true story, or His press secretary was very adept at doublespeak. This usage dates from the late 1940s, and the variant from about 1950.
See also: double, talk
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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References in periodicals archive ?
Talk about double-speak. Change isn't coming after all,' he said in a Twitter post.
Where's change?: Lacson hits Duterte admin's 'double standard'
Obama again showed his penchant for political double-speak.
Disarray on Syria
That was double-speak for: "If you keep setting up this competition for links specialists and not bigname Americans like me, we won't bother coming anymore."
POULTS THE MISSING LINKS; IN ASSOCIATION WITH
The problem is that the public is no longer willing to be taken in by such double-speak. No matter how it is dressed up, a cut remains a cut.
Double talk's unable to disguise cuts
He was pressed by the interviewer, but still managed to double-speak his way out of the mire without once looking ashamed of himself.
Straight to the point
In a classic example of modern-day double-speak, their ChiefConstable Della Cannings had argued that ``the introduction of a single number will remove confusion from members of the public about how to contact the police,and have the added benefit of reducing inappropriate 999 calls.''
DAILY POST COMMENT: Just because idea's daft..
Bloomfield dispensed with the double-speak that generally characterizes Establishment calls for world government.
Should America go to war? When our freedoms and sovereignty are threatened, we have to fight. But resuming the war on Iraq would actually empower a far greater threat--the United Nations. (Foreign Quarrels)
His claims of wishing to pursue other interests is Tory double-speak for chasing a Jeffrey Archer-sized fortune.
He's taking the Michael
It will incense a public fed up with spin, double-speak and obfustication.'
Broadside for Brown on petrol 'poll bribe'
"We are starting to change a long tradition of hypocrisy and double-speak by the Mexican government."
Pot CaLls Kettle, "B Lack"
The latest U-turn double-speak follows a written assurance from Animal Welfare Minister Elliot Morley to Wrexham MP Dr John Marek that Government licences to hunt on MoD land were NOT being issued.
LABOUR'S HUNT U-TURN IS `A KICK IN THE FACE'
Such double-speak has become a staple of discourse on this civil war.
Bosnia's agony
"The double-speak of Naidu has reached its peak and his theatrics have been incomprehensive as only a section of the TDP MPs had given the no confidence notice.
TDP's no trust move lacks clarity: YSR Congress
He said protest actions were held by OFWs in Asia, North Africa, Canada, United States, Australia, New Zealand and Europe to condemn President Aquino's "hypocrisy and deception in his recent double-speak on the abolition of the pork barrel when his P1-trillion presidential pork and the P26-billion congressional pork remain in the 2014 national budget."
Filipino workers overseas hold protests vs 'pork,' corruption
Readers will no doubt be familiar with the startlingly prophetic work, 1984, by George Orwell, whereby propaganda was purveyed by the "Ministry of Truth" and communications were defined as "double-speak".
Letter: Voice of the North - Assembly a useless and unwanted body
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