Priceline Loves Loopholes

Loophole at Windsor Castle

A "loophole" is a mistake in an agreement or law that lets you escape an obligation.

We say, for example, "Priceline exploited a loophole to avoid paying any income taxes seven years in a row."

The word stems from the Middle English loupe, literally "a narrow window in a castle wall."

A loophole was designed to protect an archer as he shot at approaching enemies.

The word took on its figurative sense, "a means of escape," around 1660.

Castles could be full of bad odors, and a loophole served as a "vent" to let them out.