motte-and-bailey

Definition, parts of speech, synonyms, and sentence examples for motte-and-bailey.

Home Featured words Jump to examples

Editorial note

I'm not sure I would call even that a motte-and-bailey, but at least it makes more sense than my original interpretation.

Examples11

Definitions1

Parts of speech1

Quick take

Alternative spelling of motte and bailey. [The predecessor of the European castle, having a raised earth mound (the motte) topped with a tower (or donjon), and a wooden ring fortification surrounding a courtyard (the bailey).]

Meaning at a glance

The clearest senses and uses of motte-and-bailey gathered in one view.

noun

Definitions

Core meanings and parts of speech for motte-and-bailey.

noun

Example sentences

I'm not sure I would call even that a motte-and-bailey, but at least it makes more sense than my original interpretation.

There is definitely something of a Motte-and-Bailey going on.

Finally, the attacking white males is basically a motte-and-bailey tactic [1] in which something very obviously wrong, and not defended by a majority of any group e.g.

That didn't quite mesh with the hedging/motte-and-bailey reference.

You're using the motte-and-bailey fallacy.

* This pattern matches to the Motte-and-Bailey rhetorical technique, ergo I am suspicious of people who try to tie genetics and IQ until they're clear they're not making a racially charged claim.

> You’re using Motte-and-Bailey tactics to conflate IQ test results with vaccines denialism No, I’m pointing out that in both cases people attack the science because the implications of the science are in tension with their ideological priors.

Quote examples

And if you complain, they'll motte-and-bailey you - you're not in favor of "harm", are you?

And this leads to the common trick of those "collaborators" you described, the "motte-and-bailey"[0]-like argument.

The author has gone so far as to link to Motte-and-Bailey fallacy (doctrine?) [0], but after reading it I see no relation to "It's not X, it's Y"?

The list avoids many of the real sins and has plenty of mis-analysis, for instance, 20 points for doing the usual motte-and-bailey or hedging in the form of “It is not X.