A wax-sealed envelope, a dark red quill and loose parchment lie against a deep burgundy background.

Original artwork, not a still

Rooster Cogburn

I've got a writ for you, rat. It's a rat writ writ for a rat.

— True Grit

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker addresses a rat and announces a writ ready for the target, then piles up the words in a tongue-twisting phrase: a rat writ writ for a rat. The legal threat is delivered with insulting relish, using repetition to make the label stick.

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