Morton's fork

English

Etymology

Said to have originated with the collecting of taxes by John Morton, Archbishop of Canterbury in the late 15th century, who held that a man living modestly must be saving money and could therefore afford taxes, whereas one living extravagantly was obviously rich and could still afford them.

Noun

Morton's fork (plural Morton's forks)

  1. A false dilemma in which contradictory arguments lead to the same (unpleasant) conclusion.

Derived terms
  • Morton's fork coup
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