Or and And :



The legal phrase “and/or,” indicating that you can either choose between two alternatives or choose both of them, has proved irresistible in other contexts and is now widely acceptable though it irritates some readers as jargon.


However, you can logically use it only when you are discussing choices which may or may not both be done: “Bring chips and/or beer.”


It’s very much overused where simple “or” would do, and it would be wrong to say, “you can get to the campus for this morning’s meeting on a bike and/or in a car.”


Choosing one eliminates the possibility of the other, so this isn’t an and/or situation.