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.
It is like the old Scotch verdict when a man was tried for larceny.
From Project Gutenberg
“What is a Scotch verdict, Guardian?”
From Project Gutenberg
But the prosecutor's exoneration of Donovan was something like the Scotch verdict of "not proven."
From Time Magazine Archive
As I recall it, they never proved that it did, or at best reached a Scotch verdict.
From Time Magazine Archive
We know it is very much like the Scotch verdict of "non proven," but still there is no doubt among fair-minded men.
From Project Gutenberg
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.
