‘Jury-Rigged’ Headline and the Judge’s Objection

Judge Sheldon objected to the headline because he said the word, “rigged” implied dishonesty.

Perhaps Sheldon should check his dictionary a bit more carefully than he did. He should know, as your headline writer does, that “jury-rigged” is a nautical term meaning “rigged for temporary use on a ship.” (That definition is from Webster’s New Twentieth Century Dictionary Unabridged.) The term has long been used metaphorically to describe, as your headline writer obviously intended, anything prepared in a hurried, make-do manner.

I am sure most of your readers appreciate the ability of Times headline writers to create an occasional bit of whimsy in a sometimes too-serious world.

DEBORAH BLANKENBERG

Rowland Heights