Ipso facto

Why say “ipso facto” when you mean “because of that very fact”?

Well, for one thing, because ipso facto is neater and more elegant, Q.E.D.

Not to be confused — however likely it is to be, ipso facto — with an ipso facto clause, which is a clause permitting a merchant to terminate her contract on her counterparty’s insolvency. In the world of financial derivatives documentation, a topic that excites animal passions like few others.