A Loint of Paw

Infobox Short story
name = A Loint of Paw
title_orig =
translator =
author = Isaac Asimov
country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Science fiction short story
published_in = The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
publication_type = Digest magazine
publisher =
media_type =
pub_date = August, 1957
english_pub_date =
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"A Loint of Paw" is a vignette by Isaac Asimov, first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in August, 1957.Cite web
title = Stories, Listed by Author
work = The Locus Index to Science Fiction
format = Reference
accessdate = 2007-10-30
url = http://www.locusmag.com/index/s31.html] 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.Cite
publisher = Weekly Reader Corporation
author = Asimov, Isaac
title = A Loint of Paw.
accessdate = 2007-10-30
date = 2005-04-29
url = http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=16791844&site=ehost-live] Asimov's author's note states that he considers "a play on words the noblest form of wit."

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.

References