People often use words that mean one thing when they are really saying something else. Most people do so inadvertently; public figures, intentionally.
... ...In the movie Captain Fantastic, Vigo's daughter is reading Lolita. He asks her what she thinks, and she says, “It's… interesting.” Her younger siblings overhear, and break out into a cacophony of “Interesting!” “Illegal word!” “Yeah, can't say interesting!”
Vigo nods and says, “Interesting is a non-word. You know you're supposed to avoid it. Be specific.” His daughter thinks and says, “It's disturbing.” Vigo replies, “More specific.”
She then proceeds to describe the story, and he interrupts again: “That's the plot.” And finally she thinks about it and gives a thoughtful answer about why Lolita is a disturbing book.
There was a lot to love about this movie, but this scene was my favourite. Because Vigo is right: “interesting” is an empty, meaningless word.
“Interesting” is a lazy word.
To say that something is interesting is to say that it's worthy of interest, but not why or how. To call something interesting doesn't take any thought or effort or analysis. Whether you’re writing fiction or nonfiction, or just having a conversation, you can do better than “interesting.”
Words like “interesting” often show up as adverbs. Ever started a sentence with “Interestingly”? Or “remarkably” or “notably” or “fascinatingly”? Or, even worse, “It goes without saying that”?
To learn more about "interesting:
https://www.rookwoodediting.com/2021/05/interesting-is-a-non-word-be-specific/
Over the years my pet peeve has been the word "basically." I used to tell my students that when someone used the word "basically" they were saying, "I am about to lie to you."
Public figures intentionally use words to mislead, misdirect or obfuscate the true issue. What follows are some of such obfuscations I have noticed over the years, with my interpretation of what they are really saying.
"Let's look at the big picture," means, "I don't want to deal with the facts as they are." This is a classic misdirection ploy. They cannot or will not deal with the situation at hand, so they describe a situation they are willing to confront, or at least discuss.
"There are nuances here" or "this situation is nuanced." Such statements are insulting as well as misleading. What the speaker is really saying is, "There are factors involved that I comprehend, but are beyond your capacity." What they are really trying to do is obfuscate the fact that there is an obvious response to the situation but they are unwilling to make it because to do so would go against their preconceived notions.
.......
https://www.desertsun.com/story/opinion/contributors/2014/08/08/really-saying/13804553/
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