Welcome back to Idiom Corner, where we look at confusing figures of speech. Today, we have a particularly baffling one: ‘The exception that proves the rule.’
There are at least three ways this phrase is commonly interpreted. Two make some kind of sense; one really doesn’t. In this post, then, we unpack how ‘the exception that proves the rule’ should be used.
We’ll get the nonsensical interpretation out of the way first. This takes the phrase to mean that something can contradict a rule yet also confirm it.
‘Prove’ is understood, in this context, to mean ‘establish the truth of something’. If we interpret it this way, we can use the phrase to dismiss problematic counterexamples to a trend or rule.
However, this common interpretation becomes a little problematic if you think about what it implies. It would be like saying that ‘every swan is white’ and then taking the existence of a black swan to confirm this statement.
She’s angry because you denied her existence. [Photo: JJ Harrison]This is a contradiction, so you should never use ‘the exception that proves the rule’ in this way.
A second common interpretation is to take ‘the exception that proves the rule’ as meaning ‘the exception that tests the rule’.
This takes ‘proves’ to mean ‘to test the validity of’. This sense of ‘prove’ is used in phrases like ‘proving ground’ and ‘the proof of the pudding is in the eating’. The ‘proofs’ that proofreaders read are related to this too, since they are ‘test’ prints. In this example, finding a black swan would be the exception that makes us question the rule that ‘every swan is white’. But while this use of the phrase is broadly accepted, its original meaning was a little different.
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We have to go a long way back for this one, as ‘the exception that proves the rule’ is actually adapted from a legal principle developed in Republican Rome: ‘The exception confirms the rule in cases not excepted.’
Little did he know how much confusion this would cause. [Photo: Glauco92]This means that the existence of a rule can be demonstrated via an exception. And ‘exception’ here means ‘an instance that does not conform to a rule’.
For example, a sign saying ‘No parking between 9AM and 6PM’ would imply that parking is allowed at other times. Hence, the exception (i.e. the period when parking is forbidden) proves the rule (i.e. parking is otherwise permitted).
If you want to be truly pedantic, then, only use ‘the exception that proves the rule’ when an exception implies a rule in cases unlike the exception (rather than proving the truth of a rule via a counterexample).
To summarise, this phrase has two common uses:
However, you should never use this phrase to mean ‘the exception confirms the rule’. This would be incorrect and illogical. And if you want someone to make sure you’re using idioms correctly, let us know.
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