Orally or in writing

“Orally or in writing” means “in spoken or written form”. It is tiresome flannel meant to capture any sort of communication by which a legal agreement might be reached. For example:

Any person affected by safety zone or an order or direction issued under this subchapter may request reconsideration by the official who issued it or in whose name it was issued. This request may be made orally or in writing, and the decision of the official receiving the request may be rendered orally or in writing.

Code of Federal Regulations of the United States (Port and Waterways Authorities) - 1976

This trope is all the more irksome for not being the statement of the bleeding obvious it means to be. For “orally or in writing” omits a whole ecosystem of non-verbal communications — nods, wags, shaken heads, facial tics and cocked eyebrows of the kind on which Roger Moore built an entire career — which can convey offer, acceptance and consideration (and for that matter reconsideration) just as well can a written or oral communication.

In the mean time, having considered your request, to comply with his regulatory obligations your Waterways Inspection Official must do more than nod or shake his head - but poking out of a tongue or blowing a raspberry may be sufficient.

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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