Category: Queen’s English / Latin Lovers

A constant grammatical problem is that of misplaced modifiers; the misplacement of a word in a sentence can alter its meaning and lead to unintended messages. The following quotations are all from various news sources (the modifiers are in italics):       “Richard Zanuck, the once-spurned son of… Continue reading →

De novo is a Latin phrase meaning “anew” or “afresh.”  In legal circles it is used to describe a matter or a decision that is to be decided a second time with no regard given to the first decision.  For example, in a hearing de… Continue reading →

In the world of grammar there are descriptivists (language liberals) and prescriptivists (strict adherence to the rules).  In the “Dictionary of Unendurable  English”, Robert Hartwell Fiske leaves no doubt about his feelings; he believes that rules promote accuracy, clarity, and elegance and that we should… Continue reading →

Writing in the monthly Pennsylvania Lawyer, Gertrude Block is always interesting and often wry in her observations.  Here are a few: Pleaded or pled (as in legal filings).  Actually, as the past tense of plead,  either is correct, though Americans seem to prefer pleaded.  Compare the… Continue reading →

NUNC PRO TUNC is a Latin phrase meaning “now for then.”  When it is included in an order of the Court it is essentially a means of making an act effective retroactively.          One common form the term crops up in is when an attorney… Continue reading →

We, as lawyers, are hardly ones to talk; we have laden our language with redundancies and anachronisms from the beginning.  There are, however, those among us who try to use language that non-lawyers, as well as lawyers, can understand. In my first class in freshman… Continue reading →

Cliché Alert.  English will always evolve, and clichés are a part of the process.  When first used (invented) a phrase which is to become a cliché may sound colorful and clever; it may be a perfectly useful but obscure word that suddenly “catches on”.  Angst is a… Continue reading →

Every now and then we hear about a criminal case in the news where the defendant enters a plea of “nolo contendere”.  A plea of nolo contendere literally means “I will not contest it”; generally speaking, such a plea in a criminal case has the… Continue reading →

Occasionally, the dull, gray world of legaldom can emit flashes of color as the US Supreme Court did in its recent decision in Staub v. Proctor Hospital.          Staub was a member of the military reserve, and as an employee of Proctor was required periodically… Continue reading →

It is monosyllabic and tiny.  But it packs its own kind of punch and is infinitely versatile.  It can be an adverb, an adjective, a conjunction, or a pronoun.  It is just so.           As an adverb it must modify a verb, an… Continue reading →