by Apple juice cum January 23, 2020
Fallacy of the red herring: Ignoring a criticism of an argument by changing attention to another subject.
by robbot July 1, 2005
You can't argue, 'Nuff Said
by toto25 April 16, 2011
A variant of the gambler's fallacy - "it is harder to dig yourself out of a hole than it is to dig deeper."
My friend Melvin won't stop buying Funko Pops - he says his collection won't sell for anything unless he has a complete set. I guess he's never heard of the coal miner's argument.
by Yegglemorph November 19, 2022
by Wuadada November 29, 2009
Also called the motte-and-bailey fallacy. A sort of rhetorical bait-and-switch where one puts forward a controversial point, then claims that they're actually arguing something far less controversial if challenged. This is often done by giving something an agreeable name (e.g., claiming that people who oppose Black Lives Matter the group oppose black lives mattering as a basic concept).
First coined by the philosopher Nicholas Shackel in 2005 and popularized by Star Slate Codex in 2014. Named after a style of medieval castle, where the hillfort (motte) is surrounded by a walled village (bailey). If the bailey was overrun, defenders could fall back to the motte and better weather the attack.
First coined by the philosopher Nicholas Shackel in 2005 and popularized by Star Slate Codex in 2014. Named after a style of medieval castle, where the hillfort (motte) is surrounded by a walled village (bailey). If the bailey was overrun, defenders could fall back to the motte and better weather the attack.
"You don't like MAGA flags, huh? What's wrong with wanting America to be great?"
"Stop it, that's a motte-and-bailey argument and you know it."
"Stop it, that's a motte-and-bailey argument and you know it."
by admiralakbar1 April 22, 2022
An argument that an individual will make despite the fact they don't believe the central premise of their own argument. An argument that's made just to argue.
by RalphMonkey June 10, 2008