Unless and until: Difference between revisions

From The Jolly Contrarian
Jump to navigation Jump to search
← Older edit
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
No edit summary
 
(10 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
A cretinous expression that means simply “until”, because until ''implies'' “unless”.  
{{pe}}A cretinous expression that means simply “until”, because “until” ''implies'' “unless”. Inevitably couched as a [[double negative]], you may see, from the nib of a {{lawyer|fastidious wordsmith}}:


But don’t let that stream of irresistible logic stop you {{tag|flannel}}ling aeay to your heart’s content.
“''Party A [[shall]] not be [[obligated]] to do any such thing [[unless and until]] state of affairs X [[shall have]] occurred.”


{{plainenglish}}
*“[[Until]] X” means “[[at any time]] up to the point at which X happens”.
*“[[Unless]] X” means “except if X has happened”.
 
At the point in time at which X happens, then X must have happened. [[Q.E.D.]]
 
To put it in a way which noted legal commentator Professor Leonard Kravitz<ref>Learned author of the celebrated monograph “''It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over''”.</ref> might recognise:
 
“''It ain’t happened ’til it’s happened.''”
 
But don’t let that stream of irresistible logic stop you [[flannel]]ling away to your heart’s content.
{{ref}}

Latest revision as of 13:30, 14 August 2024

Towards more picturesque speech™
SEC guidance on plain EnglishIndex: Click ᐅ to expand:
Plain English
Drafting
Metaphor
Tell me more
Sign up for our newsletter — or just get in touch: for ½ a weekly 🍺 you get to consult JC. Ask about it here.

A cretinous expression that means simply “until”, because “until” implies “unless”. Inevitably couched as a double negative, you may see, from the nib of a fastidious wordsmith:

“Party A shall not be obligated to do any such thing unless and until state of affairs X shall have occurred.”

  • “Until X” means “at any time up to the point at which X happens”.
  • “Unless X” means “except if X has happened”.

At the point in time at which X happens, then X must have happened. Q.E.D.

To put it in a way which noted legal commentator Professor Leonard Kravitz[1] might recognise:

“It ain’t happened ’til it’s happened.”

But don’t let that stream of irresistible logic stop you flannelling away to your heart’s content.

References

  1. ↑ Learned author of the celebrated monograph “It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over”.
Retrieved from "https://jollycontrarian.com/index.php?title=Unless_and_until&oldid=88733"