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Save and...

Posted by R. Berg on June 05, 2007

In Reply to: Save and... posted by Bob on June 05, 2007

: : Is it "save and except" OR "save and accept"? This one stumps me all the time.

: We are, we confess quite adept
: At clearing up phrases. Except,
: We find it absurd
: To define just one word.
: See the dictionary, read, and accept.

Neither version is a common phrase in everyday nontechnical English. What's the context? Do you find "save and ___" in legal documents, by any chance? Lawyers love to say things twice to make sure that what they write is clear. A contract might specify that Party A shall pay Party B $1,000 a day for use of machinery that B owns, "save and except" days when the machinery breaks down and can't be used.

"Save" is an old-fashioned way of saying "except." So, if the context is as above, what you have there is a pair of synonyms. ~rb

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