# Kafkatrap

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈkæfkəˌtræp/

## Definitions
1. A sophistical rhetorical device in which any denial by an accused person serves as evidence of guilt.

## Etymology
From Kafka + trap, coined by American programmer & open source advocate Eric S. Raymond in 2010 (see the quotation below) in reference to the novel Der Proceß (The Trial, 1925) by the Bohemian author Franz Kafka (1883–1924), in which a man is accused of crimes that are never specified, and every defense is treated as proof of guilt.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/kafkatrap