Correct (Old) Use of “Prove”
rogersgeorge on June 10th, 2023
Last panel. “Prove” in this old usage means to test, not to show that something is true. The kid got it right!
“The exception proves the rule” does not mean that you demonstrate the truth of something by making an exception to it. That’s nonsense. “The exception proves the rule” means that when you break the rule you test whether it’s actually a rule by whether you get into trouble or not. If you get into trouble, yup, it’s a rule. If you get away with it, then it’s not really a rule.
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