Yet, attorneys are contemporary authors; they are authors of legal documents. These documents do not become more effective by utilizing archaic, repetitious or otherwise poor language that some may describe as legal "mumbo-jumbo." There should be a certain amount of pride in authoring a document that is clean, clear and readable.
Full Answer
Mumbo jumbo, or mumbo-jumbo, is confusing or meaningless language. The phrase is often used to express humorous criticism of middle-management, and specialty jargon, such as legalese, that non-specialists have difficulty in understanding. For example, "I don't understand all that legal mumbo jumbo in the fine print ."
In Stranger In A Strange Land by Robert Heinlein, the character Jubal speaks of Mumbo Jumbo as the "God of the Congo" towards the end of the novel in a discourse on the meaning of religions. In Roots by Alex Haley, the Mumbo Jumbo is also mentioned in the context of tribal men disciplining disobedient wives.
In Vachel Lindsay 's poem The Congo, Mumbo Jumbo is used as a metaphor for the pagan religion followed by the Africans he encounters. The poem, at the end of each of three sections, repeats the phrase "Mumbo Jumbo will hoodoo you".
In 1972, Ishmael Reed wrote a postmodern novel titled Mumbo Jumbo which addresses a wide array of influences on African diaspora and culture, including historical realities like the Scramble for Africa and the Atlantic slave trade as well as its invented influences like the "Jes Grew" virus.
Mumbo jumbo is something that's meaningless or confusing but pretends to make sense. When sign a contract, you've got to first read a bunch of legal mumbo jumbo. The phrase mumbo jumbo is often used to describe overly complicated legal wording or ridiculously complicated bureaucracy.
In the 18th century, Mumbo-jumbo referred to a West African god. Although hints of obvious racial stereotyping may have been present when the phrase was first coined, today it is perfectly politically correct!
Origins. Mumbo Jumbo is a West African word often cited by historians and etymologists as deriving from the Mandinka word "Maamajomboo", which refers to a masked male dancer who takes part in religious ceremonies. In the 18th century Mumbo Jumbo referred to a West African god.
Occupation. MumboJumbo, known as Mumbo for short, is a YouTuber and active member of the Hermitcraft server, known for his redstone videos. He joined at the start of Season 2. He has 8,350,000 subscribers and is the most subscribed of the Hermits.
20 Things You're Saying That You Didn't Know Were Offensive"Peanut gallery""Spaz""Hooligans""Cannibal""Mumbo jumbo""Fuzzy wuzzy""No can do""Basket case"More items...
"Mambo!" is becoming more and more popular as a greeting, too. Mostly used by children or amogst young people of same age, it still means "Issues!" The expected response to that is "Poa!" which actually means "Cool!" but in this case is used as a reciprocal greeting.
It used to be called 'Mumbo Vlogs. He has been accepted into Nottingham University and later Oxford University.
HelloJambo is a Swahili greeting or salutation. It is similar in meaning to the English word Hello.
On these occasions, the interposition of Mumbo Jumbo is called in; and it is always decisive. This strange minister of justice, who is either the husband himself, or some person instructed by him, disguised in a sort of masquerade habit, made of the bark of trees, and armed with the rod of public authority, announces his coming by loud ...
Mumbo Jumbo is an English word often cited by historians and etymologists as deriving from the Mandinka word "Maamajomboo", which refers to a masked male dancer who takes part in religious ceremonies. In the 18th century Mumbo Jumbo referred to a West African god. Mungo Park 's travel journal Travels in the Interior of Africa (1795) describes 'Mumbo Jumbo' as a character, complete with "masquerade habit", whom Mandinka males would dress up as in order to resolve domestic disputes.
The novel includes an etymology taken from the first edition of the American Heritage Dictionary that derives the phrase Mumbo Jumbo from the Mandingo mā-mā-gyo-mbō, meaning a "magician who makes the troubled spirits of ancestors go away.". While the novel quotes this dictionary entry and includes a lengthy bibliography, ...
Mungo Park 's travel journal Travels in the Interior of Africa (1795) describes 'Mumbo Jumbo' as a character, complete with "masquerade habit", whom Mandinka males would dress up as in order to resolve domestic disputes.
The Story of an African Farm, an 1883 novel by Olive Schreiner, refers to half of a "Mumboo-jumbow idol [that] leaves us utterly in the dark as to what the rest was like.". Its reference symbolizes the confusion and lack of descriptiveness that came from such an idol.
In the 1928 novel The Twelve Chairs, when describing the limited vocabulary of one character, it is stated that "The lexicon of a Negro from the cannibalistic tribe Mumbo-Jumbo comprises three hundred words.".
The phrase appears in Charles Dickens ' Little Dorrit, originally published in serial form between 1855 and 1857. "He never dreamed of disputing their pretensions, but did homage to the miserable Mumbo jumbo they paraded."
Addressing a letter to someone with a law degree but who isn't practicing law means recognizing the J.D. as you would any other advanced degree. For example, "Attn: John Smith, J.D." is the appropriate way to address the envelope, as well as the address block in the letter.
Practicing attorneys have taken and passed their state's bar exam. While most practicing attorneys did attend law school and likely have a Juris Doctorate, the J.D. is not noted in correspondence. Instead, address a practicing attorney either as "Esquire" or "Attorney at Law.". These are interchangeable, though most lawyers ...
Business owners frequently deal with lawyers for a variety of matters. Having a law degree and being a lawyer are two different things; not every person with a law degree actually takes or passes a state bar exam to become a practicing lawyer.
Some attorneys maintain solo law practices , while others work for corporations or government entities. When addressing an envelope or letter to a lawyer, the lawyer's name is followed by the law firm, corporation or governmental agency on the next line before the address. Most organizations maintain websites that list the names and titles ...
These are interchangeable, though most lawyers will use one or the other on business cards or correspondence, such as "Joe Mill, Esquire.". If you don't know how the attorney refers to himself, choose either. If a business card, letter or website is available, choose the term used by the attorney himself.