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Subject:Re: and/or? From:"nosnivel -at- netvision -dot- net -dot- il" <nosnivel -at- netvision -dot- net -dot- il> To:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com Date:Mon, 25 Jun 2007 07:37:09 -0400
Peter writes:
> Does anyone have a counter-example, in which and/or serves
> as a paragon of clarity?
In the case of and/or (and, you may have noticed
from time to time, in many other cases that come
up on e-mail lists like this), the problem with
posting a simple example is that workarounds
spring to mind that are not necessarily so
available in real life.
Take, for example, "The alleycat had suffered
from disease and/or malnourishment." I think
it's a clear sentence, but anyone (including me)
would be tempted to write "The alleycat had
suffered from disease, malnourishment, or both"
instead. It's in the complicated contexts of
the workplace that the options sometimes diminish
to the point where an "and/or" becomes preferable
to the others.
--------------------------------------------------
Mark L. Levinson - nosnivel -at- netvision -dot- net -dot- il
who wrote a whole megillah about and/or in
the STC Intercom decades ago... wonder if
I still have that issue anywhere...
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