Scotch verdict
Americannoun
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a verdict of not proven: acceptable in certain cases in Scottish criminal law.
-
any inconclusive decision or declaration.
Etymology
Origin of Scotch verdict
First recorded in 1910–15
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As I recall it, they never proved that it did, or at best reached a Scotch verdict.
From Time Magazine Archive
But the prosecutor's exoneration of Donovan was something like the Scotch verdict of "not proven."
From Time Magazine Archive
The evidence impressed me as insufficient and I silently found the Scotch verdict, "Not proven."
From The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce — Volume 2: In the Midst of Life: Tales of Soldiers and Civilians by Bierce, Ambrose
Many of these conclusions I had to dismiss with the Scotch verdict of "not proven," whilst others seemed to me worthy of acceptance.
From Russia by Wallace, Donald Mackenzie, Sir
Philip has been suspected of having procured the death of his half-brother, Don John of Austria, by poison; but in this instance he is entitled at least to the Scotch verdict of Not proven.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 16, No. 93, July, 1865 by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
