poisoning the well
Attacking source first
Poisoning the well is a rhetorical tactic of discrediting someone before they speak, so that anything they say will be dismissed: Before she could defend herself, he poisoned the well by calling her a known liar.
The metaphor suggests contaminating a water source—once poisoned, nothing drawn from it can be trusted.
In argumentation, it's considered a logical fallacy because it attacks the speaker rather than addressing their claims.
- pooh-poohDismiss as trivial
- red herringIntentional misleading distraction
- ad hominemArgument targeting character
- discreditHarm another's reputation
- undermineWeaken by stealth
character assassination · appeal to authority · loaded question · bad faith argument · smear campaign · dirty tricks · stratagem · fallacy · ethos · begging the question · straw man · moving the goalposts · false equivalence · ad nauseam · guilt-tripping · special pleading · cherry picking · weasel words
- debate tacticsexaggeration, appeal to authority, appeal to emotion, logical fallacy, straw man
- fallaciesstraw man, red herring, circular reasoning, ad hominem, fallacy
poisoning the wellcleansing
Removing dirt or toxins
detoxifying · purifying · restoring · decontaminating · healing
poison, poisoned, poisoner, poisoners, poisonous, poisonously, poisons, well, welled