caps decades of legal scrutiny

[GoodTaste]

Trump’s potential indictment caps decades of legal scrutiny
NEW YORK (AP) — For 40 years, former President Donald Trump has navigated countless legal investigations without ever facing criminal charges. That record may soon come to an end.

Source: AP

I don't quite understand the meaning of "caps decades of legal scrutiny" - it seems to mean "marks the highest level of legal examination in decades (that will probably make Trump's great skill of dodging consequences of legal investigations desolate)".

I am not sure.

 

[Barque]

Trump’s potential indictment caps decades of legal scrutiny

The writer means his actions have attracted attention for decades, and now his indictment is the climax. "Caps" is a verb, meaning "adds the final touch" or "provides a climax".

it seems to mean "marks the highest level of legal examination (that will probably make Trump's great skill of dodging consequences of legal investigations desolate)".

This is a little too complicated to be easily understandable. Also, "desolate" isn't used to mean "useless" or "failure", as you seem to have done.

 

[GoodTaste]

This is a little too complicated to be easily understandable. Also, "desolate" isn't used to mean "useless" or "failure", as you seem to have done.

Desolate is defined as "laid waste" in Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English and I adopted the definition.

 

[tedmc]

A cap is a lid of a bottle which puts a limit on how much the bottle hold. "To cap decades of legal scrutiny"means the limit of legal scrutiny which has gone on for decades has been reached. The scrutiny stage has come to an end and the indictment stage to press charges against the ex-President is to commence.

 

[GoodTaste]

A cap is a lid of a bottle which puts a limit on how much the bottle hold. "To cap decades of legal scrutiny"means the limit of legal scrutiny which has gone on for decades has been reached. The scrutiny stage has come to an end and the indictment stage to press charges against the ex-President is to commence.

Well, the explanation has made things clearer.
But the use of "desolate" there as "laid waste" remains still a question. It seems to be common sense that Trump actively uses and continues to cultivate the great skill of dodging legal consequences. And so "desolate/laid waste" appears to be appropriate there. I am not sure because the word is not very familiar to me.

 

[Barque]

And so "desolate/laid waste" appears to be appropriate there.

No, it isn't. The meaning you're referring to refers to laying waste to something. A country can be desolated by war, or an area by a natural disaster. It isn't appropriate to say Trump's ability to evade consequences has "become desolate".

 

[Barque]

A cap is a lid of a bottle which puts a limit on how much the bottle hold.

I'd say the word "caps" is derived from the fact that a cap is at the top. So when something is capped by something, it has reached its peak, rather than its limit.

 

[5jj]

A very common meaning of 'cap' is 'put a cover/lid on.

 

[GoodTaste]

A very common meaning of 'cap' is 'put a cover/lid on.

Still, the headline sounds a bit odd to me:
Trump’s potential indictment caps decades of legal scrutiny.

Why bit odd? Common knowledge is that the legal process comprises different stages. The transition from the scrutiny stage to the indictment stage is naturally a development, and so the title should have been "Trump’s potential indictment passes decades of legal scrutiny" rather than "...put a cover on decades of legal scrutiny".

So why it sounds natural to you native speakers, I don't know.

 

[emsr2d2]

Here "caps" means something like "is the final stage". After years of legal scrutiny, it looks as if Trump is finally going to be indicted. I think of this metaphorical cap almost as a crown!

 

[Barque]

"Trump’s potential indictment passes decades of legal scrutiny"

"Passes" doesn't fit in this context. This sentence sounds as if "passes" has been used to mean "has gone through and been approved" and that there have been decades of legal scrutiny of the potential indictment. That's not the intended meaning.

"Legal scrutiny" here doesn't refer to a single legal proceeding. The writer means that Trump has often been suspected of breaking the law and has often been the subject of investigations or enquiries over the last few decades. He has been attracting the attention of the authorities for decades, but hasn't suffered any serious consequences.

Now it appears that he may be indicted. This tops everything that occurred before this. This is the finishing touch and a 'result' seems likely to be achieved. It caps things.

So why it sounds natural to you native speakers, I don't know.

Maybe it's because they're native speakers and it's a correct sentence.

I don't agree that "caps" here means "puts a cover on". It's closer to "crowns" (also see #10 above), because it is the climactic stage. It's the culmination of decades of scrutiny.

Why bit odd?

Why a bit odd?
Why does it sound a bit odd?

 

[GoodTaste]

"Passes" doesn't fit in this context. This sentence sounds as if "passes" has been used to mean "has gone through and been approved" and that there have been decades of legal scrutiny of the potential indictment. That's not the intended meaning.

"Legal scrutiny" here doesn't refer to a single legal proceeding. The writer means that Trump has often been suspected of breaking the law and has often been the subject of investigations or enquiries over the last few decades. He has been attracting the attention of regulatory and enforcement authorities for decades, but hasn't suffered any serious consequences.

Now it appears that he may be indicted. This tops everything that occurred before this. This is the finishing touch and a 'result' seems likely to be achieved. It caps things.

With "indictment" as the subject, the title actually means
"Trump’s potential indictment (process/stage) passes decades of legal scrutiny (process/stage)".

Context determines anything. The word "pass" is contextualized there.

 

[Barque]

, the title actually means
"Trump’s potential indictment (process/stage) passes decades of legal scrutiny (process/stage)".

No. As I already said, that would mean "Trump's potential indictment has gone through decades of legal scrutiny and has been approved". That's not the intended meaning.

The word "pass" is contextualized there.

Words are interpreted according to their customary meanings and on the basis of whether they sound natural or not, in addition to context. "Passes" is not a correct alternative to "caps" in the original sentence. You can't use a word any way you want to and say it's "contextualized".

 

[Tdol]

Passes doesn't work for me- indictment is the culmination of years of scrutiny.

 

[Tarheel]

Context determines anything.

I assume you mean that context determines everything. (While I wouldn't go that far, it is pretty important.)