I’ve noticed that in committee arguments in the House of Representatives, often when a representative wishes to speak, he or she says to the chairman, “move to strike the last word.” Then the chairman recognises the speaker, and he or she goes on to speak his or her piece.
What does it mean?
I mean, it would seem that, literally, “move to strike the last word” would be a motion to delete whatever the last speaker said from the record. I could also see it as being a request to be the last person to speak on an issue. But, obviously, the way it’s being used, it doesn’t mean either of these things.