Monday, December 22, 2008

Word of the Day:  笊法


While discussing the enforcement of certain environmental statutes today, a co-worker said that, in practice, many companies are able to circumvent some of the strictures/provisions. I knew that loophole is 抜け穴 "nukeana," which literally is like a secret door, apparently.

I wondered whether there was any way to refer in Japanese to the law itself, though. I guess I was looking for something akin to "toothless law." It turns out there's a great term for this: 笊法 【ざるほう】 (n) (uk) law full of loopholes. I love this one because 笊 literally is a "porous basket." Very expressive!

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