Equivocation – using a word or phrase to convey two different meanings simultaneously.
 

This Latin term means “equal voice,” suggesting that a word or phrase can equally convey two or more different connotations.  Since language needs to be expressed clearly to be properly understood, any vagueness can cause confusion.  Equivocation is a type of lie that has an honest appearance; it is a half-truth that distracts or confuses the listener.
 

EXAMPLE 1   

If a homeless man asks a stranger for a quarter, the stranger might respond, “I don’t have a quarter.”  In the stranger’s mind, he knows he does not have a quarter in his pocket, although his wallet might be stuffed with $20 bills!

The stranger’s response misleads the homeless individual into thinking that this passerby has no money whatsoever (which is very rare, of course).  Was this stranger honest?

Yes and no.  He answered the question specifically and literally, but the homeless man asked a metaphorical question (“quarter” was used, but it implies “money,” “charity,” or “spare change”).  This man would not turn down a donation of a dime and three nickels, even though he specifically asked for a “quarter.”  The passerby is at fault here logically for equivocating the homeless man’s word choice – he interpreted “quarter” to literally mean “quarter” and nothing else.

 
Equivocation can be more costly, however, when public officials or companies slant the truth for their benefit.
 

EXAMPLE 2

A Reform Party supporter says: “Ross Perot: Now there's finally a choice for President!”

This campaign slogan suggests that there never really were any candidates until Mr. Perot joined the fray.  Clearly, he lost the election, so there must have been other candidates running for President.  This statement implies that Perot is the only “legitimate” or “honest” candidate running, when that is not the case (at least according to the federal elections commission).  Most smart people will understand the gist of the argument in spite of the fallacious wording, so no real harm was done here.  But how might a foreign exchange student react to these words?  She would have to translate this statement literally, using denotation rather than the implied connotation that would have been common to most Americans’ ears.
 

Equivocation is also a mainstay of British humor.  Often used as a double entendre or a tool of the dramatic irony, this form of word play becomes a way to express one’s wit.  Avoid using equivocation, however, in serious academic papers.
 

EXAMPLE 3

Monty Python (from The Meaning of Life): “You're born from nothing.  You go back to nothing.  What do you lose?  Nothing!”

This sure simplifies life to its blunt realities: we are born … and will one day die.  This statement ignores, however, all the accomplishments that we achieve between birth and death that give our life satisfaction and meaning.  This faulty statement is good for a laugh or two, but does not shed any logical light on the meaning of life.
 

FOR  YOUR  INFORMATION 

British humor tends to center on the rhetoric (language used to communicate) and juxtaposition to generate a laugh.  Monty Python, for example will use loaded language, equivocation, and false authority to highlight the irony or the hypocrisy of an individual or a situation.  American humor generally aims for shock value, physical gaffes, and emotional sympathy, utilizing the following fallacies: hasty generalization, invincible ignorance, either/or, only reason, and moral equivalence.