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Literary notes about actionable (AI summary)

The term “actionable” in literature has been employed in various nuanced manners, often revolving around its legal connotations and the idea of taking formal steps. In some texts, it implies that a situation has reached a threshold requiring legal redress or concrete action, as seen in [1] where the condition must be more than mere permission—it demands a degree of manifestation to be legally operative. Similarly, [2] critiques the discrepancy between situations that should be treated as actionable and those that are not, highlighting a perceived lapse in the treatment of certain issues. Meanwhile, [3] reflects the hesitancy or disbelief that some matters may not even meet the criteria to be deemed actionable, hinting at the boundaries of legal recourse. In [4], the term is wielded in the context of reputational harm, questioning if a word like “jackass” could be considered both opprobrious and actionable, thereby opening a discussion on free expression versus defamation. Together, these examples illustrate how “actionable” has been adapted across different literary works to address questions of legal and moral responsibility.
  1. But this harboring, to be actionable, must be more than a mere permission to her to stay with such third person.
    — from History of Woman Suffrage, Volume I
  2. There are some things that ought to be actionable, and are not so— that's my opinion.
    — from Middlemarch by George Eliot
  3. “It—it’s not actionable,” he stammered.
    — from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
  4. Lord William Paget has applied to the Lord Chancellor, to inquire whether the word “jackass” is not opprobrious and actionable.
    — from Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 1, August 7, 1841 by Various

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