Is that A Mouse in Your Pocket

Zorn never heard the phrase before—in academia it’s quite often used to deflate the royal we amongst friends. In the past, single authors were expected to use the royal we in writing–as the profession became more democratized this silly and patronizing artifact has become a target of ridicule. The only time I remember a couple professors ever getting testy was when a grad student defending his point said ‘we believe’. This was a double mistake. First, one demonstrates with evidence, second, unless there is a mouse in one’s pocket, it is grammatically incorrect.