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And/Or

Any combination of two options; one, the other (either), or both.

"And/or" means any combination of two options; one, the other (either), or both.

In law, it is synonynmous with "or" which is taken to mean the same thing, and which is a preferred term for the concept of "either or both", which and/or attempts to convey.

and/or "And/or" is considered poor legal drafting and has been much criticized by the courts.

It is to the law as the square root of 2 is to mathematicians, an "irrational" word.

It has been called a "pestilent" and a "montrous linguistic abomination".

"'And/or', that befuddling, nameless thing. That Janus-faced verbal monstrosity, neither word nor phrase, the child of a brain of some one too lazy or too dull to express his precise meaning, or too dull to know what he did mean."

 

Brown v Guaranty Estates Corp. 239 NC 295 (1954)

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Unless otherwise noted, this article was written by Lloyd Duhaime, Barrister, Solicitor, Attorney and Lawyer (and Notary Public!). It is not intended to be legal advice and you would be foolhardy to rely on it in respect to any specific situation you or an acquaintance may be facing. In addition, the law changes rapidly and sometimes with little notice so from time to time, an article may not be up to date. Therefore, this is merely legal information designed to educate the reader. If you have a real situation, this information will serve as a good springboard to get legal advice from a lawyer.

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