Here’s an excellent example of how we can be right and wrong at the same time.
Yes, battery is the correct legal term for a beating, and this, no doubt, was taken directly from a police report.
But when I read this, all I could imagine was a crushed AAA lying in the gutter. Or maybe it was a nine-volt.
The problem is that battery has several meanings, and we can’t let double-entendre creep in unintentionally. In this case, someone was no doubt hurt, and yet our wording made it a laughing matter.
So what can we do next time? Here are some suggestions from class:
— Reported a case of battery
— Reported being battered
— Reported being beaten
None of those is perfect, but all are better than the original.
