Distinction without a difference
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A distinction without a difference is a type of argument where one word or phrase is preferred to another, but results in no difference to the final outcome. It is particularly used when a word or phrase has connotations associated with it that one party to an argument prefers to avoid.
"In legal terminology it means a change in definition which does not change the set which is defined. For example changing 'unseparated married men' to 'males who have a non-separated spouse' is a distinction without a difference."[1]
One of Alan King's jokes about the legal industry was about a lawyer who chastised him for not having a will, on the grounds that "if you die without a will, you would die intestate."
