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I'm looking for something similar to "pseudo-profound" or "eloquent poppy cock". I'm thinking of highly inaccurate academic papers and 'scientific' articles. Saying something asinine in a smart way?

Nine
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2 Answers2

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You could also use: equivocation or circumlocution.

Equivocation:

the use of ambiguous language to conceal the truth or to avoid committing oneself; prevarication.

Circumlocution:

the use of many words where fewer would do, especially in a deliberate attempt to be vague or evasive.

Kace36
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  • The help centre says: 'Always quote the most relevant part of an important link, in case the target site is unreachable or goes permanently offline.' – marcellothearcane Jul 06 '17 at 07:55
  • Oy! Sigh. Okay. I'll make updates tomorrow. Does this not seem a bit ridiculous at times? It's too short, it's too long, not succinct enough, overly verbose, now not enough citations, now too many... Sorry its not a personal jab. No really. Its not. Just seeing a lot of comments about those kinds of things :/ – Kace36 Jul 06 '17 at 09:15
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    yeah, every site is different. We like long answers here :) once you get the hang of it, it's fine! – marcellothearcane Jul 06 '17 at 09:53
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    Guideline: Post enough so the reader is not forced to click on your link to get the essence of what you want to say. Post the link so that a reader who wants to learn more can do so easily. Not necessary to post so much that the reader learns all there is to know about a subject by reading your post -- although sometimes a post does just this, very successfully. – ab2 Jul 06 '17 at 16:33
  • Ping me when you have edited, and I will upvote. – ab2 Jul 06 '17 at 16:35
  • Thanks guys. Got it. I'll do so. I'm on my phone at the moment so it's a bit difficult but I will definitely update it when I get back to my computer; as well as keep the rest in mind. Thanks again. – Kace36 Jul 06 '17 at 18:59
  • Updated with quoted material. – Kace36 Jul 06 '17 at 19:07
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Sophistry, 2:

The practice of a sophist; fallacious reasoning; reasoning sound in appearance only.

Demagoguery, 1:

impassioned appeals to the prejudices and emotions of the populace.

EDIT: In your case sophistry should seem the better choice because the sophists of old studied the laws of logic and reasoning by breaking them in ways imperceptible to the unsuspecting. See also a list of logical fallacies.

Anton Shepelev
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