Monday, July 24, 2006

Attorney at -

Lawyers' offices say attorney-at-law.
This means that one could be an attorney at something else, or the whole thing would be redundant, and lawyers would never do that, would they?
Language-wise, "attorney" means something like "someone to whom powers have been turned over." If you leave out the "in a legal sense" which has overgrown the concept (like a strangler vine), you could have other attorneys.
For example, twice a week an attorney-at-refuse comes by to pick up our trash.
Our local Thai place is our attorney-at-dinner-preparation.
Until the kids were potty-trained (sorry, toilet-learned), I was an attorney-at-excreta.
A pilot is an attorney-at-flight. As is a sufficiently bribed bail-bondsman.
The fun never ends.
But I do.
Good night.
Oh, one more: attorney-and-cheese on rye, hold the pickle.

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