Orally or in writing: Difference between revisions

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 — winks, nods, wags, shaken heads, facial tics and cocked eyebrows of the kind on which Roger Moore built an entire career, and of course smoke signals, people standing on distant hills and communicating by semaphore, Greek heroes mis-communicating their safe return by sail colour or more recent naval types who like to transmit their instructions by means of sequences of flags. ''Any'' of these can convey [[offer]], [[acceptance]] and [[consideration]] (and for that matter ''re''consideration) just as well can a written or oral communication. Indeed, section {{isdaprov|9(e)(ii)}} of the {{isdama}} correctly envisages tongue-tied swaps traders concluding {{isdaprov|Transactions}} by waggling their eyebrows or strategically coughing — what else could it have in mind when it talks of “orally or otherwise”? [[Ninja]] chops there from {{icds}}.

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<ref>Unless the W.I.O. in question is speaking on a telephone or behind an opaque screen at the time, of course</ref> or blowing a raspberry — being after a fashion, “oral” communications, after all — may be sufficient<ref>{{casenote|Shubtill|Port Authority of Finchley}}</ref>.