Ask whether an answer makes a commitment
Read for meaning first. Select a highlighted word if you want a closer look.
Asked whether he would supply a costume by Thursday, a fictional theater volunteer began to equivocate, saying that Thursday could mean different things to different people. Another volunteer was simply noncommittal, explaining that she could not promise a date until she checked her schedule. The first volunteer then tried to evade a question about missing materials by changing the subject to ticket sales. The coordinator separated deliberate ambiguity from an openly withheld commitment and from the broader act of avoiding an unwelcome question.
A noncommittal answer need not be dishonest when the speaker clearly says that no promise is being made. The first volunteer chose to equivocate by using ambiguity to avoid a clear commitment while sounding as though he had answered. His attempt to evade the materials question went beyond ambiguous wording because he redirected the conversation away from it altogether. The coordinator restated both questions and requested a direct account of what was available and what the volunteer could realistically undertake.
Before you move on
Look away from the passage. Can you explain each focus word in your own words?
Original fictional passages for vocabulary practice.