Special Pleading

Definition: Special Pleading

Special Pleading

Noun

1. An argument that ignores all unfavorable evidence.

2. (law) a pleading that alleges new facts in avoidance of the opposing allegations.

Specialty Definition: Special Pleading

Domain	Definition
Literature	Special Pleading Quibbling; making your own argument good by forcing certain words or phrases from their obvious and ordinary meaning. A pleading in law means a written statement of a cause pro and con., and "special pleaders" are persons who have been called to the bar, but do not speak as advocates. They advise on evidence, draw up affidavits, state the merits and demerits of a cause, and so on. After a time most special pleaders go to the bar, and many get advanced to the bench. Source: Brewer's Dictionary.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Specialty Definition: Special pleading

Special pleading is a logical fallacy wherein a double standard is employed by the person making the assertion. Special pleading typically happens when one insists upon less strict treatment for the argument one is making than one would make when evaluating another's argument. For a completely non-controversial example:

John: "I think the chicken crossed the road because somebody put food at the other side."

Mary: "You have no evidence that someone put food there. I think the chicken crossed the road because someone pushed it."

In that example, Mary was using special pleading on John. For John's argument, Mary required that everyone involved be specified, while she didn't do the same for her argument.

Synonyms within Context: Special Pleading

Context	Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).
Dissuasion	Pretense; (untruth); put off, dust thrown in the eyes; blind; moonshine; mere pretext, shallow pretext; lame excuse, lame apology; tub to a whale; false plea, sour grapes; makeshift, shift, white lie; special pleading; (sophistry); soft sawder; (flattery).
Reasoning,	Sophistry, paralogy, perversion, casuistry, jesuitry, equivocation, evasion; chicane, chicanery; quiddet, quiddity; mystification; special pleading; speciousness; Adjective: nonsense; word sense, tongue sense.
Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

Modern Translation: Special Pleading

Language		Translations for "special pleading"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Hungarian		megtévesztő érvelés, elfogult érvelés. (various references)

Pig Latin		ecialspay eadingplay

Russian		особое ходатайство защиты. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

Anagrams: Special Pleading

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "a-a-c-d-e-e-g-i-i-l-l-n-p-p-s"
	-4 letters: allegiances.
	-5 letters: algaecides, allegiance, anglicised, appendages, appendices, appliances, dalliances, diligences, dispelling, displacing, epipelagic, escalading, galenicals, lagniappes, palisading, sailplaned, spancelled.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.

Special Pleading

Definition: Special Pleading