loophole
Sign in to saveA loophole is an ambiguity or inadequacy in a system, such as a law or security, which can be used to circumvent or otherwise avoid the purpose, implied or explicitly stated, of the system.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- concept
- Subclass of
- non liquet
- Named after
- loophole
- Has use
- workaround
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Encyclopedic overview
3 sectionsContents
- Use and remediation
- See also
- References
A loophole is an ambiguity or inadequacy in a system, such as a law or security, which can be used to circumvent or otherwise avoid the purpose, implied or explicitly stated, of the system.
Originally, the word meant an arrowslit, a narrow vertical window in a wall through which an archer (or, later, gunman) could shoot. Loopholes were commonly used in U.S. forts built during the 1800s. Located in the sally port, a loophole was considered a last ditch defense, where guards could close off the inner and outer doors trapping enemy soldiers and using small arms fire through the slits.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “loophole” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.