arcane, when are you going to give us some lessons on hearsay?
I'm all ears.
The primary definition of the word "hearsay," according to the link I provided earlier, is "information received from other people that one cannot adequately substantiate; rumor." My Random House College Dictionary defines "hearsay" as "unverified, unofficial information gained or acquired from another." It then gives a separate definition of "hearsay evidence."
When one is faced with a word having one or more meanings, one interprets it according to context. Thus, for instance, reference to a wax seal on a letter would not usually be interpreted to denote an aquatic mammal.
The sentence in which I used the word "hearsay" was "Then admit to yourself that much of your picture of what happened involves a large measure of reliance on hearsay supplemented by your own imagination."
I was referring to various statements such as "he beat the **** out of him", "it was self-defense", etc. Since my comment never mentioned court testimony and described an aspect of what I called "your picture," I relied on each individual to realize that he or she had not just emerged from a court hearing on the matter. I apologize if I confused anyone.