amenable

[Jonathan Lighter]

In another startling reversal, an NPR  journalist speaks of a
"settlement that would be more amenable to the judge," when it is
clear that the judge is seeking a settlement to which he himself will
be amenable.

The SEC is suing an investment firm and has agreed to a cash
settlement. But the presiding judge wants the case to go forward
because he isn't sure whether the settlement amount is sufficient. He
isn't yet amenable to it, i.e.inclined to accept it (in a nuance OED
misses).

Don't be misled by the various OED law-related defs.  None seem to
apply here, at least as I hear it.

JL

--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org