The Drum Roll Ellipsis
Substitute Ford for Daimler, and Montana and Minnesota for California, and the Court’s “illustrative case" becomes . . . the two cases before us.
Does anyone know if there is a name for this kind of ellipsis use - the one that suggests a pause to emphasize the final, often ironic or wry, point? I love them. (Though not in formal writing; A SCOTUS Justice can do this. The rest of us can't!) https://twitter.com/bethwilensky/status/1375429569214357507
@BoydJordanP said: Calling the ellipses anything other than a drumroll would seem foolish.
Steve Mellen said: I don't know, but I suggest reading it aloud as "DOT DOT DOT" for the same effect.
Some else said: "I think of it as the "wait for it, wait for it" ellipsis. I have used it in briefs, but then I like to mess with formal conventions. I've persuaded myself that judges appreciate the liveliness ... but maybe they just think I'm from The Great Lebowski school of legal prose."