Language: en
Meaning: (idiomatic)A writtenrecord,history, or collection ofevidence.Keep a goodpaper trailin case anyone asks you why you arrived at that conclusion.2003, Marsha Collier,eBay Bargain Shopping For Dummies, page109:The onlypaper trailis the cashed money order, and unless it was cashed at a place where they actually know the payee (like the bank), the money order could have been stolen and cashed by someone else.; (idiomatic)Records left by a person or organization in the course of activities.2003, Tony Avent,So You Want to Start a Nursery, page265:With a good paperwork system in place, including a workingpaper trail, it becomes much easier to manage the flow of relevant information regarding your plants and orders.2010, Jordan Belfort,The Wolf of Wall Street:And unless thatpaper trailexonerated you from guilt—or,if not that, supported some alternative explanation that granted you plausible deniability—then sooner or later you'd find yourself on the ass end of a federal indictment.; (by extension)Physical evidence of something that occurred in the past.2012, Paul Parsons,Science in 100 Key Breakthroughs:Beginning in the late 20th century, researchers were able to analyze the mtDNA and Y chromosomes of multiple races around the world, revealing a DNApaper trailthat led back to eastern Africa around 200,000 years ago.2016, Katherine Yaun,Etiquette at School, page37:Even if you delete posts or your digitalpaper trail, the data stills[sic]exists and can be retrieved later in life.
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