Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1901-06-13
PUZZLES FOR JUDGES
SIMPLE WORDS THAT HAVE TANGLED
UP ENGLISH CoURTs.

Some Terms of Almost Everyday
Use That Proved to BE Too Pro-
found For the Intelligence of the
Learned BENCH and Bar.
In a case that came before a famous
lord justice some time ago the counsel
for the prosecution in the evidence had
to mention Il blouse"
h judge asked what a blouse was,
and it was explained that this was part
of a lady's dress. But the case came to
a dead stop for the time, for the judge
did not know which part, and after
some hesitation the barrister admitted
that he wasn't sure. Several learned
brothers gave their opinion, some opin-
Ing a blouse was the upper half Of o
lady's costume, while others insisted lit
must be the lower half. The entire
court. filled with learned celebrities
whose heads held all the laws of Brit
ain. from pitch and toss to mansIaugh-
ter. argued it out, but nobody was sure.
The judge thought it was the lower
half, but a junior barrister who had
lately been married said he thought
that that half was called a. skirt, but
did not feel certain. At length a lady
was called, who set the court right.
Another odd dilemma happened not
long ago when in the Hobson 'horse
taking" case the word "fetlock" arose.
a fetlock, as everybody knows, Is the
ankle of a horse. The court asked
what it was, however, aud the prose-
cutting counsel was nonplused. The
witnesses We're out of court save one,
and be knew nothing. The Judge
thought a fetlock was a sort of hind
knee, otherwise "hock," but one learn
ed brother was quite certain it was the
lock of hair that hangs over a horses
forehead. The defendants solicitor
opined it was that part Of the harness
which slips over the tail. the upp
n another legal celebrity agreed with
the Judge. Finally the court had to call
a stable groom to clear up the mystery.
In a case that was settled some years
since the recorder was brought I'D
short by q phrase used by the counsel
for defense, who spoke of a transaction
concerning a pound of '~blacklead."
This is q common M useful article,
but the counsel on being asked to ex-
plain its nature said it was a black
substance used for boot polishing. The
recorder thought it was a mineral used
in lead pencils. but another barrister
asserted it to be a tough kind Of lead
used for roofing houses" The case was
brought to a standstill, and one lawyer,
unsurpassed in legal knowledge, de-
clared that hlacklead was a slang term
for pig iron as produced in the north
country. A fourth expounder Of the
law vaguely suggested it was the op-
posite of white lead, and finally a do
nestle servant put the court right, and
the assembly at last learned that it was
used for backing stoves.
Another dilemma was produced q lit
tie while ago on the western circuit by
the introduction Of the words "dry
nurse" in an address to the court. This
bewildered the judge, who asked if q
dry nurse was a nurse who dried ba-
bies after they had been washed. That
solution did not occur to the learned
counsel, who, after some hesitation,
said he thought it meant q nurse who
was not addicted to drinking and there
fore most suitable to look after infants.
Nobody seemed to know what the term
really meant. though several more.
guesses were made, the last OF them
that a dry nurse was one who could
not amuse children.
The court was again nonplused by a
statement made that somebody con-
cerned in the case supposed to suffer
from melancholia was really las Jolly
as a sandboy." The judge wanted to
know what a sandboy was in order to
form some idea as to the exact degree
of jollity involved. The counsel could
not tell him. though one suggested it
was a boy who sanded the roads and
the other thought it might be a lad
building sand castles on the ~seashore.
The whole court stopped to discuss
what a sandboy was and why he was
jolly. but they could not solve the prob
lem.
1t is hardly believable that anybody
should not know what a "snafle" is.
but a London magistrate recently desir-
ed to be informed. and nobody could
tell him what a snaf1e might be. A
solicitor thought it was the same thing
as the curb" and the clerk had an
Idea 1t was a kind of cold In the head
which horses caught. causing them to
SDufla n pOn6 6oal-I op6op Answo,.