LawProse Lessons

Miscellaneous Entries. ready, willing, and able. In law, this set phrase traditionally refers to a prospective buyer of property who can legally and financially consummate the deal. A less common variant is “ready, able, and willing.” reasonable; rational. Generally, “reasonable” means “according to reason; sensible.” “Rational” means “having reason.” Yet “reasonable” is often used in …

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redound. “Redound” now used most commonly in the verbose clichés “to redound to the benefit of” (= to benefit) and “to redound to one’s credit,” may also be used in negative senses {to redound against or to the shame of}. E.g.: “If I leave before the new villa is complete, I will have more questions …

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redoubtable. “Redoubtable” (= [1] venerable; or [2] fearsome) is a 14th-century loanword from the Old French “redoutable” (= dreaded). Both senses are common: o Sense 1: “Chipperfield and a number of ‘britischer Architekten,’ as Architectural Review notes in its April 2006 issue, have been leaving a redoubtable imprimatur on Germany’s landscape.” Suzanne Stephens, “David Chipperfield …

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recreate; re-create. A distinction is fading. “Recreate” = (1) to amuse oneself by indulging in recreation; or (2) (of a pastime) to agreeably occupy. “Re-create” = to create anew. Classically, the hyphen makes a great difference — e.g.: o “Her days are divided between frolicking in the sand and recreating in a resort hotel.” A. …

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