As Joe Biden rushed (sorry, stumbled) out of the doors of the White House, he flung around things called ‘pre-emptive pardons’ like confetti. And that poses an interesting linguistic problem. The word ‘pardon’ appears in English from about 1300 onwards. It came into English from French – and it is still used in French today to apologise, in exactly the same way we say ‘I beg your pardon’ if we bump into someone.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Get 10 issues
for $20
Subscribe to The Spectator Australia today for the next 10 magazine issues, plus full online access, for just $20.
- Delivery of the weekly magazine
- Unlimited access to spectator.com.au and app
- Spectator podcasts and newsletters
- Full access to spectator.co.uk
Or
Unlock this article
Contact Kel at ozwords.com.au
You might disagree with half of it, but you’ll enjoy reading all of it. Try your first month for free, then just $2 a week for the remainder of your first year.
Comments
Don't miss out
Join the conversation with other Spectator Australia readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.
SUBSCRIBEAlready a subscriber? Log in