History
Beyond the shadow of a doubt, or beyond a shadow of a doubt appears to be a phrase that has grown up in the colloquial, predominantly from the simpler form "beyond a doubt," circa 1300.
Other notable uses of the exact phrase shadow of (a) doubt include:
- popular news print around 1820
- The Scarlet Letter, novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1850.
- The Gondoliers, operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan, 1889: “Of that there is no manner of doubt—no probable, possible shadow of doubt”
- "The Trial by Existence", poem by Robert Frost, 1915.
- To Kill a Mockingbird, novel by Harper Lee, 1960, wherein Atticus Finch states: "The law says 'reasonable doubt,' but I think a defendant's entitled to the shadow of a doubt. There's always the possibility, no matter how improbable, that he's innocent."
Read more about this topic: Beyond The Shadow Of A Doubt
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Let it suffice that in the light of these two facts, namely, that the mind is One, and that nature is its correlative, history is to be read and written.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The myth of independence from the mother is abandoned in mid- life as women learn new routes around the mother—both the mother without and the mother within. A mid-life daughter may reengage with a mother or put new controls on care and set limits to love. But whatever she does, her child’s history is never finished.”
—Terri Apter (20th century)
“I cannot be much pleased without an appearance of truth; at least of possibility—I wish the history to be natural though the sentiments are refined; and the characters to be probable, though their behaviour is excelling.”
—Frances Burney (1752–1840)