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phrase requests - Word for answering the question you wish had been asked not the one asked?


This is really common with politicians where they answer a potentially probing question as if they had been asked an entirely other question.


Hypothetical example:



Interviewer: "Is it true that today's budget will put single parents out on the street due to the draconian cuts to childcare supports?"


Politician: "That's a great question, Interviewer. Families are our top priority as the government of country X because we've been talking to citizens of country X and they've told us how important their families are to them. That's why we are boosting the economy of country X to help families by taking the restrictions off business so they can afford to pay the citizens of country X more..."



I know broadly this would be called 'spin' or 'obfuscation' but I'm interested to know if a term exists for this more specifically.


Is there a word for this type of question dodging?



Answer



To equivocate is "to avoid committing oneself in what one says."


To prevaricate is "to avoid telling the truth by not directly answering a question."


A hedge (or to hedge) is "a calculatedly noncommittal or evasive statement."


To beat around the bush is "to fail or refuse to come to the point in discourse."


All definitions from merriam-webster.com.


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