The libel trick where a plaintiff can only win by admitting the insult fits — and lawyers say it barely works (en.wikipedia.org)
The "small penis rule" traces to a 1998 NYT piece: authors deter libel suits by attaching a demeaning detail to a thinly-veiled character. Michael Crichton allegedly used it on a critic; a law professor argues it's mostly ineffective.
The thread reframes it — the point is exaggerating low-status traits, not anatomy — and questions the logic, before a former estates lawyer drops the will-drafting version of the exact same trap.
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