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failing his or her legal guardian(s)

English translation: requires punctuation to make it more understandable

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:failing his or her legal guardian(s)
Selected answer:requires punctuation to make it more understandable

10:12 Oct 7, 2018
    The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2018-10-10 14:54:07 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)


English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Law/Patents - Law (general) / Terms & Conditions
English term or phrase: failing his or her legal guardian(s)
In the event that the Competitor is a minor, he/she shall be deemed to have been authorized by his/her parents or by the persons(s) having parental authority over him or her, or that failing his or her legal guardian(s), to enter the Competition.
Muhammad Said
Egypt
Local time: 11:19
requires punctuation to make it more understandable
Explanation:
...having parental authority over him or her, or, that failing, his or her legal guardian(s), to enter the Competition.

"Failing that" would be a better word order. If the parents or those with paternal authority are not available or do not exist, a legal guardian will do.
Selected response from:

Jack Doughty
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:19
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +6requires punctuation to make it more understandable
Jack Doughty
5 +3that failing, his or her legal guardian(s) [see comment]
Jennifer Caisley


  

Answers


8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +3
that failing, his or her legal guardian(s) [see comment]


Explanation:
There is a comma missing/implied in the text - "that failing, his or her legal guardians".

This means that, if the competitor's parents cannot/do not give their consent, his/her legal guardians can do so in their stead, in line with the authority they would usually be permitted to exercise.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_guardian for information on this.

Jennifer Caisley
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:19
Meets criteria
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
Notes to answerer
Asker: I really appreciate it.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  philgoddard: As Jack says, it's usually "failing that".
38 mins
  -> Yes, exactly (I think Jack posted his response while I was in the process of drafting mine - he expresses it much clearer!)
agree  Martin Riordan: Two missing commas? Before and after "that failing"...
14 hrs
  -> I agree - two commas would make it even clearer, but I think the comma preceding "that failing" would be stylistically advisable rather than a grammatical necessity, unlike the second one!
agree  acetran
2 days 8 hrs
  -> Thank you!
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +6
requires punctuation to make it more understandable


Explanation:
...having parental authority over him or her, or, that failing, his or her legal guardian(s), to enter the Competition.

"Failing that" would be a better word order. If the parents or those with paternal authority are not available or do not exist, a legal guardian will do.

Jack Doughty
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:19
Meets criteria
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 239
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
Notes to answerer
Asker: I really appreciate it.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  B D Finch: Punctuation would be a good idea, but a reader who knows how to parse English is even more important. It's acceptable, modern practice to omit the comma after "him or her" in order to avoid a comma overload.
50 mins
  -> Thank you. I would rather "overload" a sentence with commas than leave it difficult to understand.
agree  Yvonne Gallagher
2 hrs
  -> Thank you.
agree  Martin Riordan: Yes, better too many than too few!
14 hrs
  -> Thank you.
agree  Daryo
1 day 1 hr
  -> Тhank you.
agree  Tina Vonhof (X): The more commas, the merrier.
1 day 6 hrs
  -> Thank you. But in general, fewer are used in US English than in UK English.
agree  Yorkshireman: With you on that, Tina.
1 day 6 hrs
  -> Thank you.
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