All 3 Uses of
precedent
in
Babbitt
- He could, on ten hours' notice, appear before the board of aldermen or the state legislature and prove, absolutely, with figures all in rows and with precedents from Poland and New Zealand, that the street-car company loved the Public and yearned over its employees; that all its stock was owned by Widows and Orphans; and that whatever it desired to do would benefit property-owners by increasing rental values, and help the poor by lowering rents.†
Chpt 3
- …of alcohol; he praised, though he did not obey, the laws against motor-speeding; he paid his debts; he contributed to the church, the Red Cross, and the Y. M. C. A.; he followed the custom of his clan and cheated only as it was sanctified by precedent; and he never descended to trickery—though, as he explained to Paul Riesling: "Course I don't mean to say that every ad I write is literally true or that I always believe everything I say when I give some buyer a good strong…†
Chpt 4
- Suddenly, without precedent, Babbitt was not merely bored but admitting that he was bored.†
Chpt 9 *
Definition:
-
(precedent as in: sets a precedent) an example from a prior time -- typically used to justify similar occurrences at a later time (especially a judicial decision)