by law = 'inevitably; naturally'

[Laurence Horn]

On Dec 16, 2012, at 7:50 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:

> The father of one of the children killed in Connecticut tells CNN that his
> children "were born within three years of one another, so by law they were
> very close."
>
> JL


No, we just have some very odd laws on the books here.  Maybe now that the blue laws banning the sale of alcohol in stores on the Lord's day* have been overturned, the legislators can get around to the one invoked above.

LH

*Writing after the repeal of the blue laws last May, a trade organization for liquor stores celebrates the decision as follows:
[http://www.ctbites.com/home/2012/5/17/blue-laws-officially-end-sunday-may-20th.html]
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No longer will an unexpectedly zealous Saturday night force us to brave the headlong fall of a Sunday morning without benefit of a mimosa's golden parachute. We have arrived at the end of those dark days when the tyranny of outdated laws decide the success or failure an afternoon NFL party. Verily I say to thee: we have been freed from the cruel japes of the other 48 states, and can instead join them in their mockery of Indiana, the 18th century's last holdout.
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An unexpectedly zealous Saturday night, you may ask?  Yes, zeal makes itself felt in idiosyncratic ways here too.  After all, this is "the land of steady habits".

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