ABSTRACT
Ambiguity occurs when writing can be interpreted to mean more than one thing, and these things are in conflict with each other.
You can often get away with this in ordinary English if one meaning seems more likely than another. In legal English, especially in contract drafting, it can be disastrous. Anglo-American lawyers still take a literalist approach to construction – i.e. contract words are interpreted according to their literal meaning rather than according to the purpose and effect that can be presumed from the context. A slightly ambiguous piece of phrasing may end up costing thousands of dollars.
