loaded question

loaded question

A question that carries additional emotional weight or significance—whether positive or negative—beyond its literal or basic meaning. A: "Tell me, how would you describe your relationship with your mother?" B: "Wow, what a loaded question!"
See also: loaded, question
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

loaded question

A question heavy with meaning or emotional impact, as in When he inquired after Helen's ex-husband, that was a loaded question. This term employs loaded in the sense of "charged with hidden implication." [Mid-1900s]
See also: loaded, question
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
See also:
  • loaded word
  • do tell
  • blue in the face, to be/until one is
  • the spirit of the law
  • significance
  • significance level
  • strictly speaking
  • be jumping up and down
  • at a dead end
  • be as good as dead
References in periodicals archive
It's a loaded question because then a plethora of arguments would arrive in favour of the conditions in which police work.
Rickshaw, fire and moving on
He also couldn't help but snap back at someone who asked the loaded question, 'Differentiate depression and just worrying.'
Vice Ganda throws green jokes, wacky answers in online QandA
Constituents asked why the 14th District congressman from Plano voted "to give tax cuts to the wealthy at the expense of the rest of us." The loaded question referred to a vote Hultgren cast last November when the House passed its version with a 227-205 vote.
'Are you better off now?' Hultgren asks audience about tax cuts. 'No,' most say
"What do you think?" can always be a loaded question. When dads are forced to make decisions every hour of the day, the best Father's Day gift you can give him is to not have him make decisions.
This Father's Day, give dad the three things he really wants
It's a loaded question to say the least, but it does warrant attention.
It's important to mitigate the impact of plastic
This is a loaded question and an answer may sound realistic and fantastic at the same time.
Fear in Kim Jong-un's eyes
Last weekend at the Philippine Military Academy homecoming, the chief was asked a loaded question: if he thought that critics can bring down the administration.
What coup d'etat is he talking about?
Continue reading "Israeli MKs Ask a Loaded Question: What Would Victory Over the Palestinians Look Like?" at...
Israeli MKs Ask a Loaded Question: What Would Victory Over the Palestinians Look Like?
"Man, that's a loaded question," says patent attorney Wesley Austin.
Patently Obvious: How to protect your business ideas
Asked whether Kaino, who was not selected in the matchday 23 this weekend, would be in contention for next week's Bledisloe Cup encounter in Dunedin, Hansen replied: "I think that's a pretty loaded question.
FIRST-HALF BLITZ STUNS WALLABIES; AUSTRALIA.....................34 NEW ZEALAND...............54
Alright, well I've got another loaded question for you.
Sheer Mag
Loaded question broadcast journalist obviously learned his style of questioning from attack dog Jeremy Paxman as he terrifies Serena Williams so much that she's forced put her hands up in surrender.
NET GAINS NEW BALLS AT WIMBLEDON
Imagine if he'd given a knowing wink to a loaded question about dreaming of playing for Real Madrid?
Why there is no rush for De Gea to head for Real
Packer's strength is her ability to see meaning in small gestures, to recognize that "Are you okay?" is, in many marriages, a loaded question. Her descriptions are beautiful; she imagines the sky as being the color of a glass of water into which one has dipped a calligraphy pen.
The Children's Crusade
Wilson sets out in his new book to answer the loaded question posed by the title--The Meaning of Human Existence.
Creatures of chance