accessory after the fact
7
8.4
- noun
- /ækˈsɛsəri ˈæftər ðə fækt/
- Specialized
:
cómplice después del hecho
- The court found her guilty of being an accessory after the fact for helping her friend evade arrest.
- charged with accessory after the fact
- accessory after the fact for felony
- make you an accessory after the fact
Examples
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If I don't report this, I'll be an accessory after the fact.
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By taking this course, responsible senior officials have made themselves accomplices or accessories after the fact.
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Her husband Michael was charged as an accessory after the fact.
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That makes you an accessory after the fact.
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Oh, of course, that would make you an accessory after the fact.
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But what is certain, if you go to the police, they will probably charge you with being an accessory after the fact.
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Our having him here without notifying them makes us accessories after the fact.
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They said she was an accessory after the fact.
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You don't want to be an accessory after the fact.
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A second man, Shaine David Fischer, was arrested and charged with two counts of accessory after the fact of murder.
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How Involved
481
3.6
172
6.7
- Specialized
59
7.7
- Specialized
7
8.4
84
3.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
accessory + after + the + fact
The phrase combines 'accessory' (a person who assists a criminal) with the temporal phrase 'after the fact' (after the event has occurred), so the overall meaning — someone who helps after the crime — is directly derivable from the parts. Though legalistic, the composition is transparent and parallels common constructions in other languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will grasp the meaning.
Etymology
Accessory after the fact comes from a simple image: an accessory is someone who helps and after the fact means doing that help after the crime is done. Imagine hiding a thief or giving them money once the robbery is over — you are helping 'after the crime', so you are an accessory after the fact.