The Problem of Evasive Testimony: The Expert "Waffle"
Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and Law 35:1 : 112-117 (2007)
http://www.jaapl.org/cgi/content/abstract/35/1/112
Thomas G. Gutheil, MD
"Confronted with a difficult, unexpected, or confrontational question, an expert witness may answer by attempting to overwhelm the questioner with words, sometimes highly evasive ones, that avoid, rather than actually address, the question asked. Such a discursive response is sometimes called a "waffle," as in "The expert's answer was a waffle." This review notes some examples of this phenomenon and attempts to categorize them in a meaningful way. An ancillary goal of this discussion may be to aid experts in focusing their answers."