My passport says something like "to alter this instrument, or to utter it so altered, is an offence". This always read strangely to me - it's an offence to have

My passport says something like "to alter this instrument, or to utter it so altered, is an offence". This always read strangely to me - it's an offence to have a real passport, but claim it's a fake? But this definition of "utter" makes it work - it's a crime both to falsify the passport, and to attempt to travel with one that has been falsified.