field show-up

field show-up
 n.— «With closing arguments set to begin today, the case against 10 Long Beach youths accused of beating three white women Halloween night hinges almost entirely on identifications made in a Ralphs parking lot the night of the attack. In a procedure known as a field show-up, police told the victims and a reputed witness that the youths—nine girls and a boy, ages 12 to 17—were suspects and asked if they recognized them from the melee.» —“Key tactic in hate-crime case assailed” by Joe Mozingo Los Angeles Times Jan. 17, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Further reading

Highway Punnery

Besides the Use Ya Blinkah roadside sign seen in Massachusetts, seasonal messages on digital highway signs have included the Halloween-themed Hocus Pocus—Drive with Focus and the Fourth of July admonition Don’t Drive Star-Spangled Hammered...

Alight from The Train

Aaron in Los Angeles, California, notes while using public transit in Britain he and other passengers were instructed to alight from the front, meaning “exit the car from the front.” Alight comes from an Old English word alihtan, literally, to...

Recent posts