# What's the meaning of the expression, "That's the exception that proves the rule?"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-meaning-of-the-expression-thats-the-exception-that-proves-the-rule/485409>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [February 11, 2009, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-meaning-of-the-expression-thats-the-exception-that-proves-the-rule/485409 "2009-02-11T19:06:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Bluffcityguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ebca7d/32.png) [@Bluffcityguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bluffcityguy)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-meaning-of-the-expression-thats-the-exception-that-proves-the-rule/485409/21 "2009-03-04T15:31:47Z")

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> [@John\_W.Kennedy](#):
>
> Whew! I didn’t know that, though I can see it. (I should add that I’m not even an eensy bit a lawyer or a historian.)

Interesting; based on your post (#14 in this thread, IIRC) I might have asked what law school you graduated from (or at least attended). And for the record, I graduated from one, so you’d at least do a good job of playing one on TV. 😃

And let the record reflect that’s meant to be something of a non-backhanded compliment.

Cheers,

bcg

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**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-meaning-of-the-expression-thats-the-exception-that-proves-the-rule/485409/22 "2009-03-04T17:26:04Z")

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Pure elephant’s-child syndrome, I’m afraid. Or, as the young ladies in “The Gondoliers” put it, “Everything is interesting, / Tell us, tell us all about it.”

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**Author:** ![Powers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Powers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Powers)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2009, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-meaning-of-the-expression-thats-the-exception-that-proves-the-rule/485409/23 "2009-03-27T14:50:34Z")

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Snopes (or, more accurately, Snopes’ wife) addresses the issue:

[http://www.snopes.com/language/notthink/exception.asp](http://www.snopes.com/language/notthink/exception.asp)

They come to the same conclusion as The Master – that it means the existence of explicit exceptions confirms that the rule applies in all other cases.

I could do without the snarky “(but not for the reason you think)” parenthetical, however. =)  
Powers &8^]

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