` :::@JW I really have difficulty understanding your ``is`` point.  Tell me, would you consider the following an incorrect statement ``Poultry is duck, chicken, or goose.``?  I don't think your ``civil war`` example really holds here, as it involves describing history (something which ultimately has an objective truth) rather than defining an abstract term.   :::Anyways, would you be ammenable to replacing ``is`` w/ ``can be``?  That still seems concise, and I think it should address some of your concerns.   `