I am trying to imagine* the complained-of dialogue:
So after you've served the effing pleading on our effing opponent, you should take the remaining copy and bring it to the effing clerk of the effing court. Now, don't get effing confused; this is the courthouse on effing Main Street, the one where the effing clerk's office is on the left-hand side as you enter...
(Although this merely illustrates the use of curse-words while explaining something, so it's not quite right.)
My favorite line from the actual opinion is: "When making business calls, it is not necessary to give grammar lessons, but that is not a sanctionable action."
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FN* In its opinion, the court of course explained in detail the attorney's misconduct, including examples of the profanities uttered and their context. The court concluded that the attorney exhibited a pattern of conduct that showed indifference to his legal and ethical obligations, as well as a "debonair nihilism" with respect to moral principles and the feelings of others.
3 comments:
Laura, is explicatives an american thing??
Bill
Not really!!! The word "explicative" is an adjective, so it doesn't actually have a plural form (such as the non-existent "explicatives").
(I was surprised to find that it is a word at all, but Merriam-Webster defines explicative as: "serving to explain logically what is contained in the subject." Supposedly the term has been around since 1649, but I don't think it's really in style these days.)
Not to be confused with
Expletive:
1a : a syllable, word, or phrase inserted to fill a vacancy (as in a sentence or a metrical line) without adding to the sense; especially : a word (as it in “make it clear which you prefer”) that occupies the position of the subject or object of a verb in normal English word order and anticipates a subsequent word or phrase that supplies the needed meaningful content
1b : an exclamatory word or phrase; especially : one that is obscene or profane
2: one that serves to fill out or as a filling
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