fetish

A fetish is a modern religious contraption that projects anxieties and feelings of lack onto inanimate objects or rituals, then endows them with mystical power and value. Shoes or fabrics chosen at random become the pillars of self-esteem, only to reveal hollow emptiness upon closer inspection. Disguised as a personal preference, it is in fact the noisiest armor concealing the darkness within the mind.

paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is the art of skillfully disguising your blunt statements so they don’t pierce the ears of others. Simply uttering it makes you appear erudite, while concealing the unchanged underlying fact with a magical sleight of hand. From academic papers to corporate emails, its versatility feigns sincerity while muddying the substance. Those who preach clarity rely on this little trick the most. Without paraphrasing, perhaps no explanation would ever be necessary.