Definition of "exception that proves the rule" []

• A form of argument in which the existence of a counterexample to a rule is used to demonstrate the fact that a rule exists. (noun)
• The rare occurrence of a counterexample to a rule, used to underscore that the rule exists (noun)

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• "Instead, she comes to us as an enigmatic and perplexing footnote, who tantalises with what is possible, while at the same time being the exception that proves the rule that the intensely demanding realm of rabbinic thought is an exclusively male dominion."