Orally or in writing
Not quite the conceivable possible universe of communications it aspires to denote, this tiresome trope is all the more irksome for failing competently to state the bleeding obvious it intends.
To be sure, “orally or in writing” amply covers the spoken and written word, but that leaves out the whole ecosystem of nods, wags, shaken heads, facial tics and cocked eyebrows,which can operate to communicate more devastatingly than this inept legal flannel which tries to wipe them away, especially if you happen to be Roger Moore or Leslie Phillips.
Punctilious attorneys look down at the laiety when they mistake “verbally” and “orally”, but the last laugh is on them: “Verbally” is a neater, and less stupid-sounding, expression than orally or in writing for which it is an exact synonym.
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