2015 Federal Election

[ookpik]

Dropping the writ 

The phrase "drop the writ" is a debased form of the phrase "draw up the writ", and is still considered stylistically inappropriate in some contexts. For example, in 2005, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation circulated a memorandum on style, directing its journalists not to use the phrase. However, it is commonly used, and has passed into the vernacular.

And yet several years later even the CBC couldn't follow their own stylistic rules. Writ drop marks campaign's official kickoff 

For weeks now, the phrase "drop the writ" has been popping up in election stories. But what exactly is the writ and why is it being dropped?...

York University political science professor Bob Drummond said writ-dropping day is something every political junkie looks forward to as the campaigns officially kicks off. "I’m not sure why they use ‘dropping the writ,’ where that came from but it’s a catchall term for the beginning of the election," he said.