Double negative
One of the easiest flannels for a new learner to master. It can be as simple as “you’re not wrong”, or “I don’t disagree”, it can be subtly buried in a redundant expression like unless and until, or it can find its full-bodied roar, as in that most magnificent contortion, the Indemnifiable Tax definition in the ISDA Master Agreement - a quintuple negative:
- “An Indemnifiable Tax is any Tax that is not[1] a Stamp Tax that is not[2] a tax that would not[3] be imposed if there were not[4] a connection between the taxing authority’s jurisdiction and the recipient that did not[5] arise solely from the recipient having performed any part of this Agreement in that jurisdiction.
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The ISDA Master Agreement} is happy hunting ground for multiple negatives. See also the first limb of Section 5(a)(ii), a triple negative addressing the consequences of Breach of Agreement. Plain English Anatomy™ Noun | Verb | Adjective | Adverb | Preposition | Conjunction | Latin | Germany | Flannel | Legal triplicate | Nominalisation | Murder your darlings