Readers’ comments
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Dead lifts
Olivia Whitcroft’s article on unenforceable contract terms (see issue 371, p116) reminded me of an incident from many years ago that made me smile. I was negotiating the lease for the office accommodation for my fledgling business. The landlord was a well-known insurance company and the lease contained a term along the lines of “we shall not be responsible for death or injury caused by the lifts, even if this results from the negligence of the landlord”. I queried this with my solicitor, saying it surely couldn’t be legally enforceable. He agreed and contacted the landlord’s solicitor to have the clause removed. The response came back: “My client realises that the term is unenforceable but wishes to retain the comfort of the wording.”
Brian Preece
American bias
I enjoyed Nicole Kobie’s article about idioms and AI (see issue 371, p126), but it did make me think that a lot of the training for AI comes from the US, which can be a different language compared to English. Take your quote, “to lick a badger”. If I was to lick this poor badger I would be using my tongue and most British people would agree; we might also say we beat or tricked this poor badger.
Mumbo jumbo: does AI have an American bias?