post factum

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jeReMi - 30 Dec 2003 12:33 GMT

Can I use this phrase in English? I know that I could say "post mortem" but
sometimes I don't like its connection with death.

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Mike Lyle - 30 Dec 2003 19:27 GMT

> Can I use this phrase in English? I know that I could say "post mortem" but
> sometimes I don't like its connection with death.

The phrase "post factum" is used, as its cousin, "ex post facto". I
assume you want to use it in a sense in which "post mortem" is not
literal but figurative; you could do that, but many English-speakers
wouldn't be sure what it meant. It's usually better to use plain
English: "after the fact" will do very well.

Mike.

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Bill Bonde ( the oblique allusion in lieu of the frontal attack ) - 31 Dec 2003 07:08 GMT

> Can I use this phrase in English? I know that I could say "post mortem" but
> sometimes I don't like its connection with death.

Think how guys named 'Mort' feel about it.

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"Throw me that lipstick, darling, I wanna redo my stigmata."
+-Jennifer Saunders, "Absolutely Fabulous"

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Discussion Groups / English Usage / December 2003

post factum