the.com/rough justice
Fair enough for now, and way cheaper than a trial.
means An outcome that's roughly fair rather than carefully, legally fair — rapid, informal punishment or settlement that skips due process but lands close enough to the right verdict.
from A straightforward compound first recorded in the 1800s, pairing 'rough' in its old sense of 'crude, unrefined, lacking proper finish' with 'justice.' It described treatment handed out by mobs, vigilantes, or battlefield commanders rather than courts — justice without the smoothing-over of trials, lawyers, or appeals. No single incident coined it; it simply named something people kept witnessing.
- origin
- 18th century naval term for summary punishment
- not actual justice
- approximate, improvised, occasionally just vibes
- classic form
- mob catches thief, skips the paperwork
- appeal
- satisfying now, legally indefensible later