On 8/5/2013 4:25 PM, John Gilmore wrote:
and I think not.  There is, however, much language that can be argued
to have a meaning different from that its speaker/writer intended,
particularly when that language is wrenched out of its context.

Frequent road sign: $100 FINE FOR LITTERING
So if I litter 10,000 times I'll be a millionaire?

The law in fact has a bent for disambiguation.  Many apparently banal
lawyer's phrases have been so much litigated that their meanings have
been made very clear.  The patent lawyer's talk of 'a person learned
in the art' is an example.  It appears to be vague, almost empty of
content; it is in fact a very precise notion.

My town has signs that read: 2 Hour Parking Except Sundays
I still don't know whether it's legal or not to park there on Sunday.

Gerhard Postpischil
Bradford, Vermont

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