411 REFERENCE · Wiktionary
Philadelphia lawyer
Reference material by Wiktionary contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
English
Etymology
Possibly derived from Andrew Hamilton's skillful defense of John Peter Zenger in 1735, though, as the phrase is not attested until 1788, this is uncertain.
Noun
en US A clever, crafty, or otherwise extremely adroit practitioner of law.
Usage notes
Of something extremely hard to understand or resolve, it may be said that it would (or is enough to) puzzle a Philadelphia lawyer.
Synonyms
en legal beagle
en legal eagle
en terms derived from toponyms
en People