3 ms·

I don't think "but for" is legal jargon or has any special meaning in law, apart from the normal English meaning.

• CPLX 11y ago
  You're correct that it doesn't have some wildly divergent meaning from plain English, but it is in fact a legal phrase that has a lot of history and specific meaning behind it: http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/but-for_test http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/but-for_test http://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=113 http://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=113 http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/%22But+for%22+Rule http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/%22But+for%22+...
• deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
• cmdrfred 11y ago
  What's a butt for?
• stephengillie 11y ago
  Are you a lawyer? Have you passed a Bar exam?