I have a sentence where someone uses the phrase, "she is also a great recourse". Could that be correct? Or are they confusing the word for "resource"? A person can have recourse to another person(higher in the chain of command or outside party), but is it proper to call them a "recourse"?
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Probably the intent was "resource", but "recourse" could (sort of) make sense if she were a good "person of last resort" when dealing with some issue. – Hot Licks May 29 '15 at 21:33
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She is in an advocating position. Brought up the question of whether the intent was "resource", but the writer insisted it was "recourse". I am always interested in being more enlightened, but don't want to erroneously follow a mistake because I want to be avant garde. – usernew888 May 29 '15 at 21:55
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1Well, "a great recourse" is not a particularly idiomatic use of the word. It's not a use I'd recommend emulating. – Hot Licks May 29 '15 at 21:58
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What @Hot Licks said. Technically speaking, recourse would appear to be at least credible. But in practice, the term is so strongly associated with sub-optimal, last resort, not the preferred choice contexts that it just sounds weird to label someone a *great recourse*. – FumbleFingers May 29 '15 at 22:18
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Thanks for the insight into the possible negative connotation of the phrase "great recourse". However, in this case where the person being described is in an advocating position, it seems like it would be positive, in the sense that the person could help where others couldn't help. – usernew888 May 29 '15 at 23:32
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Noun: Recourse
1) Act of turning to for assistance.
2) Something or someone turned to for assistance or security.
I think the sentence means that the person is great for assistance or security. However,"S" and "C" are very close on the keyboard, and so it can be a typo.
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