Orally or in writing: Difference between revisions

From The Jolly Contrarian
Jump to navigation Jump to search
No edit summary
No edit summary
Line 1: Line 1:
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.  
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 {{tag|flannel}} which tries to wipe them away, especially if you happen to be Roger Moore or Leslie Phillips.
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 {{tag|flannel}} which tries to wipe them away, especially if you happen to be Roger Moore, Leslie Phillips or Kenneth Williams.


[[mediocre lawyer|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.
[[mediocre lawyer|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.


{{plainenglish}}
{{plainenglish}}

Revision as of 16:57, 4 November 2016

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, Leslie Phillips or Kenneth Williams.

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.

Plain English Anatomy™ Noun | Verb | Adjective | Adverb | Preposition | Conjunction | Latin | Germany | Flannel | Legal triplicate | Nominalisation | Murder your darlings