Examples...
Q: Why is the sky blue?
A: Because God made it that way.(A kid to their parent)
Q: Why do I have to clean my room?
A: Because I said so.
What is it called when someone answers a question this way? I've said "That's not an answer, that's a 'cop-out'" but that's not right.
I would personally call that being evasive.
When you do this you're dodging the question.
This may happen when the responder either doesn't know the answer and wants to avoid embarrassment, or when the responder is being interrogated or questioned in debate, and wants to avoid giving a direct response.
Similarly, from a comment, this is sometimes called "ducking the question" (h/t Scott).
Dodging the question is a form of deflection:
Etymology: 17th Century: from Latin dēflectere, from flectere to bend.
You can also try:
Circumlocution
Circumbendibus
Periphrasis
For me, fob is a good word here, as in:
I fobbed her off with a circumbendibus.
tergiversate
to be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information
Despite all the great synonyms for "lying", my word of choice is "sidestep". Whether it be a parent who does not really know why the sky is blue but needs to save face with their child, or a politician who does not want to get caught answering a question with a horde of reporters recording their every utterance for posterity, the way out of the jam is to "sidestep" with an answer that is somewhere between vague and flat-out lying.
"sidestep"
transitive verb
1: bypass, evade sidestep a question
2: to move out of the way of : avoid sidestep a blow>
intransitive verb
1: to take a side step
2: to avoid an issue or decision
Examples of SIDESTEP
*"She sidestepped the reporter's question. They're sidestepping the real issue."
First Known Use of SIDESTEP: 1900
Related to SIDESTEP: Synonyms: beat, bypass, dodge, get around, shortcut, circumvent, skirt
definition and examples from Merriam-Webster Online
The best answers above seem to be evade and equivocate, because both are general enough not to imply being deceitful or trickorius.
evade
verb \i-ˈvād, ē-\ evad·ed evad·ing
intransitive verb 1 : to slip away 2 : to take refuge in escape or avoidance
transitive verb 1 : to elude by dexterity or stratagem
2 a : to avoid facing up to b : to avoid the performance of : dodge, circumvent; especially : to fail to pay (taxes) c : to avoid answering directly : turn aside
3 : to be elusive to : baffle
equiv·o·cate
intransitive verb \i-ˈkwi-və-ˌkāt\ equiv·o·cat·ed equiv·o·cat·ing
1 : to use equivocal language especially with intent to deceive
2 : to avoid committing oneself in what one says
equivocal
adjective \i-ˈkwi-və-kəl\
1 a : subject to two or more interpretations and usually used to mislead or confuse b : uncertain as an indication or sign
2 a : of uncertain nature or classification b : of uncertain disposition toward a person or thing : undecided c : of doubtful advantage, genuineness, or moral rectitude
(Less formal, but perhaps more precise could be dodge, which is often used in the very example of a question being asked.)
Consider prevaricate
to speak falsely or misleadingly; deliberately misstate or create an incorrect impression; lie.
or equivocate
to use ambiguous or unclear expressions, usually to avoid commitment or in order to mislead; prevaricate or hedge
Note, though, that both are usually used in contexts when the speakers wishes to actively mislead or avoid committing to an answer, rather than just avoiding the need to answer altogether.
Two adjectives come to mind: "glib" and "pat".
"Glib" seems to me to imply a swift and deliberately evasive answer, one that may be even somewhat witty.
"Pat" implies to me that the answer is short, requires no thought to make, and almost could be predicted.
Your first example is more glib than pat, for most people. The second example is pat.
Neither "dodgy" nor "evasive" can capture instances where the generic answer is offered in jest. When humor is intended, an anti-joke is being cracked. Examples of anti-jokes:
What's worse than finding a worm in your apple? The Holocaust
Why did the boy drop his ice cream? Because he was hit by a bus.
Why is the sky blue? Because God made it that way.
In the world of NLP these types of answers are usually referred to as distortions.
This definition of distorted is based on world renowned linguist Noam Chomsky’s Transformational Generative Grammar.
The examples given are surface structures of distortion called complex equivalence, as referenced in Educational Psychology Casework: A Practice Guide by Rick Beaver.
So for me these answers are distorted.
Answer by fiat.
To directly respond to the Original Post: you want to avoid questions that can only be answered by fiat.
This wording is supported by several examples of "(noun) by fiat" or "(verb) by fiat", meaning justified by authority or arbitrary order, as opposed to logic or morality.
You get an all-powerful magical creator with attributes that defy basic logic by fiat. We get... a rock. -Aspie, whywontgodhealamputees.com
Obama’s bombshell amnesty-by-fiat is a subversion of straightforward immigration law. -Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post
Applying a different rule may result in a different result, but both rules are right by fiat, because they define what they purport to represent. - G. Scott Acton, University of California, San Francisco
Measurements can be either (a) made when confirmed empirical theories may be used to support their existence; or (b) made by fiat, based on arbitrary definition. -Ahmed Riahi Belkaoui, Accounting Theory
While the original post is looking for one word, and @Village's bounty also looks for the word, brevity has its limits. No single word provided here captures that this answering strategy has a brutish quality lacking in reason or moral force. Any discussion of avoidance should use a multi-word phrase that includes "by fiat".
And in final support of this phrasing, I offer that it is the best damn answer here because I say so.
Jon Purdy's suggestion of non-answer is one I'd support.
Currently, only Urban dictionary has a definition of it, but it is to an answer what a non-apology apology is to an apology - you're pretending to answer (or apologize) but you aren't really doing so.
I would call them "economic answers"—as they save the responder time.
I would use indirect or evade.
Colloquially, someone who does that could be shining you on. As slang, there aren't many authoritative sources, but it's very common, as evidenced in this discussion thread from The Straight Dope.
Quote: Originally Posted by NinetyWt
It is very common here in central Mississipppi. And, not just 'agreeing with someone when you don't agree with them' but also encouraging someone to believe in something which isn't true, or valid, or likely to come to pass. As in "he kept sayin' he was gonna ask me to prom, but he was just shinin' me on" or "he kept hollerin' like he wanted to buy my truck but he was just shinin' me on".
What NinetyWt said. It was in use in norcal in the 1970's. Dunno about now.
Shining me on is a good form of bullshit. As in, he was bullshitting me.
I've generally referred to this behavior as cagey, especially when it's clear that someone is unwilling to commit to an answer.
