The word versus can be abbreviated any of several ways. In legal contexts in the United States, it’s usually abbreviated as v., as in Supreme Court decisions on Brown v. Board of Education or Roe v. Wade. In less formal situations, such as sports...
Coming down the pike means something is approaching or in the works, and it isn’t special legal jargon, even if Lucy in Indianapolis first heard it in law school about Supreme Court opinions. The pike is shortened from turnpike, a toll road once...
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. wrote, in a Supreme Court opinion no less, that “a word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged; it is the skin of a living thought and may vary greatly in color and content according to the circumstances and time in...
Quiz Guy Greg Pliska offers a colorful variation on his ever-popular “Odd Man Out” puzzle. In this series, for example, which one doesn’t belong: Imperial, Shasta, Kings, and Orange. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Odd Man Out...
Terry stop n.— «In any event, Desjaridns said police have the right to perform what is called a “Terry” stop, named for the U.S. Supreme Court case Terry v. Ohio. In that case, an officer observed an individual loitering outside of a store, wearing...
brown-bag v.— «On the farm, brown-bagging is the practice of selling harvested, government-protected varieties of seed to other farmers for future planting at discount prices. On Wednesday, in an 8-1 victory for the nation’s seed industry, the...