You’d think lawyers would stop pulling Latin from the past, but it’s like a secret handshake that only works if you read the fine print. Terms like *caveat emptor*, *prima facie*, or *in re* slip into everyday speech because they’re shorthand for complex ideas, and once they’re in a contract they become part of the legal lexicon. Over time, people start using them casually—“let’s *caveat* the risk” or “that’s a *prima facie* argument”—and the Latin survives, not as a relic but as a compact, unambiguous code. It’s efficient, it’s authoritative, and it keeps everyone on the same page, which is exactly what the law prefers.

It’s a neat trick, really. A single Latin phrase can convey a whole clause in a sentence, so when someone drops “caveat” in conversation, everyone knows they’re referring to that warning about undisclosed risks. It keeps the conversation concise and the meaning unmistakable, which is why lawyers love it and why it slips into casual speech—just a shortcut to a bundle of legal obligations.