Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

shaggy defense

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.17 in modern English

Syllables: shag-gy de-fense
IPA

25

Scrabble Score

13

Letters

3

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A legal defense strategy in which the defendant categorically denies any involvement.

Informal

Etymology

Coined by Slate writer Josh Levin in 2008 to describe the defense tactics used by singer R. Kelly on trial for child pornography charges. The term refers to reggae musician Shaggy's 2000 single "It Wasn't Me", which narrates a story of shamelessly denying one's infidelity.

Usage

Informal

Inflected Forms

Shaggy defenses (plural)

Questions

What does shaggy defense mean?: A legal defense strategy in which the defendant categorically denies any involvement.
Where does shaggy defense come from?: Coined by Slate writer Josh Levin in 2008 to describe the defense tactics used by singer R. Kelly on trial for child pornography charges. The term refers to reggae musician Shaggy's 2000 single "It Wasn't Me", which narrates a story of shamelessly denying one's infidelity.

How to pronounce shaggy defense

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