A Loint of Paw is a vignette by Isaac Asimov, first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in August 1957.[1] It was reprinted in the 1968 collection Asimov's Mysteries and the 1986 collection The Best Science Fiction of Isaac Asimov. The title of the story is a play on the words "a point of law", which alludes to the punchline of the story also being a pun.[2] Asimov's author's note states that he considers "a play on words the noblest form of wit."[2]
An alternate title for this story is "A Niche In Time Saves Stein".
[edit] Plot summary
The plot involves a criminal named Stein who stole over $100,000 through fraud, then entered a time machine set for the day after the statute of limitations for his crime expired. The story tells how the case against Stein was prosecuted and defended, and the judge's eventual ruling delivered in the form of a pun.[2]
[edit] References
