Postal Service v. Konan · ¶28
Dictionaries published around the time Congress enacted the FTCA confirm that a “miscarriage” of mail happened when mail failed to arrive properly.Two dictionaries indi- cate that “miscarriage” of mail meant the “failure of a letter . . . to reach its destination.”2 New Century Dictionary of the English Language 1069 (1927); accord, 6 Oxford English Dictionary 497 (1933) (“The failure (of a letter, etc.) to reach its destination”).In a third, “miscarriage” meant the “[f]ail- ure (of something sent) to arrive.”Webster’s New Interna- tional Dictionary 1568 (2d ed. 1934) (Webster’s Second). Definitions of “miscarry” were similarly broad.Ibid. (“To fail of reaching the destination”); 6 Oxford English Diction- ary, at 498 (“To fail to reach its proper destination”).Some- thing can “fail” to happen as a result of intentional miscon- duct.See, e. g., 26 U. S. C. §291 (1940 ed.) (imposing a…Read in context ›
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