On April 17, 1973, Ron Ziegler, President Nixon's press secretary, was caught in a lie during a press conference. In his attempt to extract himself from an embarrassing situation, Ziegler said the most recent statement was the "operative statement"; the previous one was now "inoperative." This is a classic example of

a) euphemism

b) colloquialism

c) cliche

d) doublespeak

Question

Social Studies

Maximus Olsen

27 December, 12:34

On April 17, 1973, Ron Ziegler, President Nixon's press secretary, was caught in a lie during a press conference. In his attempt to extract himself from an embarrassing situation, Ziegler said the most recent statement was the "operative statement"; the previous one was now "inoperative." This is a classic example of

a) euphemism

b) colloquialism

c) cliche

d) doublespeak

+3

Answers (1)

Know the Answer?

Mauricio Wright · Answer 1

a: euphenism

Explanation:

Press secretaries must have a very good knowledge of how to use the appropriate words. In this occasion, in order to find a way to avoid embarassment resulting from a lie, he tries to minimize what he had declared before, so he employs an euphenism, by using and comparing the expressions "operatrive statement" and "inoperative" instead of acknowledging: "I was wrong when said that."