moot point
A point, aspect, or topic that is no longer relevant or can no longer be questioned or debated. Whether or not he's the best person for the job is a moot point now that he's tenured. A: "Have you looked at Harvard's program?" B: "That's a bit of a moot point, don't you think? I've already accepted a place at NYU."
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
moot point
A debatable question, an issue open to argument; also, an irrelevant question, a matter of no importance. For example, Whether Shakespeare actually wrote the poem remains a moot point among critics, or It's a moot point whether the chicken or the egg came first. This term originated in British law where it described a point for discussion in a moot, or assembly, of law students. By the early 1700s it was being used more loosely in the present sense.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
moot point, a
A debatable question. This term was originally exclusively a legal one, a moot case or moot point being a case for discussion in a moot, or meeting, of law students. By the eighteenth century, however, it was being used figuratively in a far more general way. For example, “It is a very moot point to which of those causes we may ascribe the universal dulness of the Irish,” wrote Sir C. Wogan (1732–33), cited by the OED.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer