The same fifteen words as the cards above, written out in full — easy to scan, search or print.

sue someone / take someone to courtB2phrase

to start legal action against someone to make them pay for harm they caused; in everyday English you can also say take someone to court

The coyote wants to sue Acme, or in everyday English take them to court, for every gadget that broke and hurt him.

a lawsuit / a caseB2noun

a formal legal complaint that one side brings against another; lawyers also call it a case

Kevin opens a lawsuit against Acme, and soon the whole courtroom is arguing about the case.

a lawyerA2noun

a person trained to give legal advice and to speak for people in court

Kevin Avery is a lawyer in Albuquerque who advertises on billboards and loses most of his trials.

evidenceB1noun

proof that shows what really happened

Gathering evidence is easy, because the coyote kept everything: burnt rockets, bent anvils and a tower of receipts.

the plaintiffC1noun

the person or side that brings a case to court and asks for the court’s help

The coyote is the plaintiff, because he is the one bringing the case against Acme.

the defendantC1noun

the person or company accused in court, who must defend themselves

Acme is the defendant, so its expensive lawyers must defend the company in court.

settle out of courtC1phrase

to agree a private payment so that there is no trial and no public judgment

Buddy Crane offers to settle out of court, and Kevin wavers, but the coyote refuses.

Your HonourB2phrase

the formal way to speak to a judge in court, never Sir

Whenever a lawyer addresses Judge Troppogrosso, he calls him Your Honour.

Objection!B2exclamation

what a lawyer calls out to tell the judge that the other side has broken a rule

Buddy Crane bellows Objection! at a tiny, silent coyote holding up a hand-written sign.

a witnessB2noun

someone who saw what happened and tells the court about it

The coyote has never spoken, so as a witness he writes his replies on cardboard while the courtroom waits.

a verdictC1noun

the court’s official decision about who was right

Everything in the trial builds towards a verdict, the court’s official decision on who was right.

I rest my caseC1phrase

my argument is finished and I have nothing more to add; in everyday talk, a joke when something proves your point

Lawyers in courtroom dramas like this one finish with I rest my case, and you can say it when a late friend walks in an hour late.

stubbornB2adjective

refusing to change your mind or give up, even when you should

The film turns the coyote’s stubborn refusal to give up into something very nearly heroic.

absurdB2adjective

so unreasonable or silly that it makes no sense

A coyote in a courtroom is completely absurd, and the film enjoys every minute of it.

satiricalC1adjective

using humour to criticise people, companies or politics

Reviewers praised the film’s satirical edge, which attacks corporations that hide the truth.