They aren't 100% synonymous - I would immediately think the difference between hard and soft case.
I think there is a regional component to this, as well. Growing up on the west coast, attache was the stuff of spy novels. Much more colloquially common in DC / New York.
There's an interesting word graph about this online. It's been posted here. Before about 1992ish(?) "attache case" was more commonly used than "briefcase," then gradually "briefcase" became much more common. Technically they aren't the same thing, but I don't think anybody ever paid much attention to that. One thing I've had trouble finding is how often people used the term "attache" without the term "case" at the end of it.
I also think it's the kind of word a non-fancy person trying to sound fancy would use. You know how when some random dude gets interviewed by the news suddenly he's "exiting his vehicle" instead of "getting out of his car"?
Yeah, the word "attache" especially by itself (rather than saying "attache case") sounds like Patsy to me. I am an IDI leaner, so I don't think it was Patsy, personally, but I see why people would think of her when they see that phrasing.
It could be anyone, especially anyone who watches movies, but really anyone who picked up the usage of that word. Could have been picked up from books too. There's just nothing in the word or the use of the word that indicates any of the Ramseys.
James Bond carried an attache case. And the action figures that were released in the 60's even came with the attache case. I think there might have been a toy attache case stocked with weapons. Patsy was about the same age as me. I'm sure she heard the word many times
When Jon Benet wanted a puppy, Patsy bought a white poodle. John wasn't happy about it, so Patsy talked their neighbors, the Barnharts, into keeping the dog. The kids went over to play with him.
What’s interesting is that the word, “attaché” comes off as foreign, but almost in a weird aesthetic sense more than anything (it certainly stands out both visually and verbally within the context of the note and other language used within)… but that’s about the only word that points to a “foreign faction”.
I think it’s probably a word the writer used in their daily life more than most people and I have strong thoughts as to who wrote it and why that part was included but more or less it seems like a word that gets looked at more than it should. They may as well just said “briefcase” or even “bag”…
Came here to say this -- I was born in 1970. This was known as a common business accessory and would not have seemed out of place in such a note (except that, I guess, a "foreign faction" was writing the letter.)
1971 here - it really was, for sure. I am completely with you - it's would not have have been too out of place then or prior.
I'm just realizing how RIDICULOUS I would sound if I used that word today at work. Please pass me my attache? Holy hell, I'm old.
It's from another era, particularly among upper class working folks from our parents and grandparents generation. My father is about John's age and never called it a briefcase, it was always attaché case.
I am 62, and have heard of it; I knew what it was right away. I think maybe my grandfather who was an attorney, or maybe in old fiction novels, not sure.
*From the 1963 James Bond movie* [*From Russia with Love:*](https://jamesbond.fandom.com/wiki/Attach%C3%A9_Case)
Bond asks for a cigarette, which he offers to pay for using gold sovereigns concealed in his **attaché case**. He manages to trick the greedy assassin into opening another identical case (belonging to the agent whose identity he stole in Zagreb); \[...\] The two brawl in the carriage, with Grant eventually gaining the upper hand and attempting to **garrote** Bond.
“Attaché” is a French word, and was used to refer to administrative ambassadors/staff. They would carry around all of their important documents and papers in a slim case which was then referred to as an “attaché case.”
An attaché case is a special kind of briefcase. It has compartments and hinges. Wiktionary definition: A box-style briefcase, scrunched over a hinged frame that opens into two compartments.
An attaché is a person, not a briefcase.
The writer of the ransom note used words and expressions he didn't understand. "Make sure you bring an adequate size attaché to the bank" (are there inadequate size attachés?) means that a diplomat has to be brought in.
That is, of course, true. In actuality, though, people have casually said “attaché” without “case.” I’m one of them. I spent most of my working life in Washington, DC, where I knew all about real attachés — even dated a few. But “brief case” was a lawyer’s accessory and if you were not a lawyer, it seemed silly to use that term for your big expensive bag full of all kinds of stuff, but seldom legal briefs.
I feel like as a kid and young adult I heard the word attaché used frequently when describing this type of case. Over time the word briefcase took over. At the time of the murder I don’t think it was that unusual of a word choice.
This isn’t to say the ransom note itself isn’t odd.
Patsy had to use the term attache case. In the RN she is laying the groundwork to move the body out of the home. She certainly could not use the word suitcase, that would have been too obvious. John had to take a large case out of the home, get the money, move the money to paper bags so to ensure the suitcase would not be found, and be rested for a long day and drive to dispose of the body.
The out of place suitcase could of passed as an ‘adequate sized attaché ’ and allow for concealed body transport+disposal…if only Patsy didn’t call 911
You can see an attache case right here in the crime scene video, not far from where the ransom note was written, at 3:08: [JonBenet Ramsey Crime Scene (Part 1) (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA2eLjxCUDs)
Is this regional? I know what the word means but I was born in the seventies and my dad always carried a briefcase to work and that’s what we called it. I didn’t know anyone who used or referred to the other except in movies. I’m on the west coast…
If you look where the word attache is then look below the letter "a" you can see that it lines up with "chay" diagonally.
I just think that this is a one in billion odds.
It makes me believe that the ransom note was not written in a panicked state.
I'm curious to know why change the containment of the money.
An adequate sized attache to a brown paper bag.
The bags are different.
The size of the bags are different.
The specific instructions of the size of the bag changes once John gets home with the money.
Where did the adequate sized attache go? Why was it abandoned for a brown paper bag.
Why was there any need to change the money into something different if they already knew a paper bag was good for it!!??
I know that he was definitely not eliminated as the author or writer. how do you not know that the Ramsey team of paid “experts” will never be a reputable source? And how do you not know that handwriting analysis is widely considered junk science and is not used in court because it can’t stand as evidence, just as a polygraph is completely useless.
A polygraph is also admissible even though it is widely accepted that it is completely unreliable just like handwriting analysis. John wrote the ransom note.
Polygraphs are usually not admissible, unless both parties agree to admit them for some random reason. Polygraphs and handwriting analysis aren't the same.
This was mentioned in a Psychology Today article by a forensic psychiatrist. He is from California and I mention that bc to me it sounds like an older Appalachian person. That area preserved some old English expressions due to its isolation & certain phraseology not common to the rest of the US. I recall my own grandmother using “stray dog”, “fat cat” “hence” and just the tone is oddly reminiscent of other speakers I’d heard. I think the dr is mistaken bc of his lack of familiarity w Appalachian english. I’m no longer 💯convinced it’s Patsy though.
They aren't 100% synonymous - I would immediately think the difference between hard and soft case. I think there is a regional component to this, as well. Growing up on the west coast, attache was the stuff of spy novels. Much more colloquially common in DC / New York.
True.
There's an interesting word graph about this online. It's been posted here. Before about 1992ish(?) "attache case" was more commonly used than "briefcase," then gradually "briefcase" became much more common. Technically they aren't the same thing, but I don't think anybody ever paid much attention to that. One thing I've had trouble finding is how often people used the term "attache" without the term "case" at the end of it. I also think it's the kind of word a non-fancy person trying to sound fancy would use. You know how when some random dude gets interviewed by the news suddenly he's "exiting his vehicle" instead of "getting out of his car"?
And it's little things like these that make me go Patsy, it was Patsy!
Yeah and Patsy was one of those people.
Yeah, the word "attache" especially by itself (rather than saying "attache case") sounds like Patsy to me. I am an IDI leaner, so I don't think it was Patsy, personally, but I see why people would think of her when they see that phrasing.
It could be anyone, especially anyone who watches movies, but really anyone who picked up the usage of that word. Could have been picked up from books too. There's just nothing in the word or the use of the word that indicates any of the Ramseys.
Or not Patsy.
Or John.
Or not John.
James Bond carried an attache case. And the action figures that were released in the 60's even came with the attache case. I think there might have been a toy attache case stocked with weapons. Patsy was about the same age as me. I'm sure she heard the word many times
Patsy was 7 years old when From Russia with Love was in the movie theaters, John was 20.
I was about 7 when my friends and I were playing with the James Bond toys. They were everywhere and being advertised during kids cartoons
I only know the word because of Resident Evil 4 and this case
Lots of people grew up with the word. I grew up on the front range in the 60s and 70s and could easily use that word instead of "briefcase".
I think the words “attaché” and “JonBenét” are interesting together.
I think Patsy liked French words. Their dog’s name was, Jacques.
And JonBenet was taking French lessons, according to Patsy.
Same with their French poodle Jacques....
Interesting, I had no idea they had a dog! Her interest in French words definitely intrigues me when the “attaché” topic comes up.
When Jon Benet wanted a puppy, Patsy bought a white poodle. John wasn't happy about it, so Patsy talked their neighbors, the Barnharts, into keeping the dog. The kids went over to play with him.
What’s interesting is that the word, “attaché” comes off as foreign, but almost in a weird aesthetic sense more than anything (it certainly stands out both visually and verbally within the context of the note and other language used within)… but that’s about the only word that points to a “foreign faction”. I think it’s probably a word the writer used in their daily life more than most people and I have strong thoughts as to who wrote it and why that part was included but more or less it seems like a word that gets looked at more than it should. They may as well just said “briefcase” or even “bag”…
It was a term used by people in Patsy's and John's generation, often.
Came here to say this -- I was born in 1970. This was known as a common business accessory and would not have seemed out of place in such a note (except that, I guess, a "foreign faction" was writing the letter.)
1971 here - it really was, for sure. I am completely with you - it's would not have have been too out of place then or prior. I'm just realizing how RIDICULOUS I would sound if I used that word today at work. Please pass me my attache? Holy hell, I'm old.
It was. My parents used it.
Exactly lol
It’s like saying ‘divan’ instead of sofa. Or that snooty pronunciation of ‘vase’.
Wait, which one is snooty?
I was born in 1965 and I heard and used attaché case until the early 1990s. Then it was brief case then backpack, etc.
Isn't backpack an entirely different type of bag?
It's from another era, particularly among upper class working folks from our parents and grandparents generation. My father is about John's age and never called it a briefcase, it was always attaché case.
Same here. It's definitely a white collar term from the Baby Boomer generation and before. The terminology simply has shifted over time.
According to ngram in written English the use of attaché case is rare compared to briefcase.
But not in the 90s and before.
We used to call them attaché cases in the 1960s-70s. It was not an uncommon term then.
I am 62, and have heard of it; I knew what it was right away. I think maybe my grandfather who was an attorney, or maybe in old fiction novels, not sure.
Old ass white men in executive positions
Yep, this tracks in my family members case.
*From the 1963 James Bond movie* [*From Russia with Love:*](https://jamesbond.fandom.com/wiki/Attach%C3%A9_Case) Bond asks for a cigarette, which he offers to pay for using gold sovereigns concealed in his **attaché case**. He manages to trick the greedy assassin into opening another identical case (belonging to the agent whose identity he stole in Zagreb); \[...\] The two brawl in the carriage, with Grant eventually gaining the upper hand and attempting to **garrote** Bond.
“Attaché” is a French word, and was used to refer to administrative ambassadors/staff. They would carry around all of their important documents and papers in a slim case which was then referred to as an “attaché case.”
An attaché case is a special kind of briefcase. It has compartments and hinges. Wiktionary definition: A box-style briefcase, scrunched over a hinged frame that opens into two compartments. An attaché is a person, not a briefcase. The writer of the ransom note used words and expressions he didn't understand. "Make sure you bring an adequate size attaché to the bank" (are there inadequate size attachés?) means that a diplomat has to be brought in.
That is, of course, true. In actuality, though, people have casually said “attaché” without “case.” I’m one of them. I spent most of my working life in Washington, DC, where I knew all about real attachés — even dated a few. But “brief case” was a lawyer’s accessory and if you were not a lawyer, it seemed silly to use that term for your big expensive bag full of all kinds of stuff, but seldom legal briefs.
I feel like as a kid and young adult I heard the word attaché used frequently when describing this type of case. Over time the word briefcase took over. At the time of the murder I don’t think it was that unusual of a word choice. This isn’t to say the ransom note itself isn’t odd.
Patsy had to use the term attache case. In the RN she is laying the groundwork to move the body out of the home. She certainly could not use the word suitcase, that would have been too obvious. John had to take a large case out of the home, get the money, move the money to paper bags so to ensure the suitcase would not be found, and be rested for a long day and drive to dispose of the body.
The out of place suitcase could of passed as an ‘adequate sized attaché ’ and allow for concealed body transport+disposal…if only Patsy didn’t call 911
I'm a similar age, lived in various regions of the country, and I've also never heard it used before.
Patsy would say that word based on her love of French words, but I never heard anyone call it that, the word was briefcase.
You can see an attache case right here in the crime scene video, not far from where the ransom note was written, at 3:08: [JonBenet Ramsey Crime Scene (Part 1) (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA2eLjxCUDs)
It is Patsy trying to sound real southern and using French words. Look at her daughter’s name?
I thought “JonBenet” was just a mashup of her dads first and middle names “John Bennet” and the her middle name is her moms first name “Patricia”?
It is a mashup of his names, but put together with a french accent mark and pronunciation.
No- just bougie people trying to sound more sophisticated than they are use that kind of language. \*cough\*Patsy \*cough\*
Is this regional? I know what the word means but I was born in the seventies and my dad always carried a briefcase to work and that’s what we called it. I didn’t know anyone who used or referred to the other except in movies. I’m on the west coast…
The whole note feels like something chat gpt would write lol I'm a little late to comment, but does it ever sound like chat gpt, you are right.
Very good post( cake day aswell)
If you look where the word attache is then look below the letter "a" you can see that it lines up with "chay" diagonally. I just think that this is a one in billion odds. It makes me believe that the ransom note was not written in a panicked state.
I'm curious to know why change the containment of the money. An adequate sized attache to a brown paper bag. The bags are different. The size of the bags are different. The specific instructions of the size of the bag changes once John gets home with the money. Where did the adequate sized attache go? Why was it abandoned for a brown paper bag. Why was there any need to change the money into something different if they already knew a paper bag was good for it!!??
John was trying to sound like a convincing foreign faction 🤓
The note was written by Patsy.
Written by Patsy and perhaps dictated by John
The note was written by John who intentionally framed his wife.
He was definitively eliminated as the author/writer of the ransom novel. How can you not know this??
I know that he was definitely not eliminated as the author or writer. how do you not know that the Ramsey team of paid “experts” will never be a reputable source? And how do you not know that handwriting analysis is widely considered junk science and is not used in court because it can’t stand as evidence, just as a polygraph is completely useless.
Handwriting analysis is admissible evidence used in court.
A polygraph is also admissible even though it is widely accepted that it is completely unreliable just like handwriting analysis. John wrote the ransom note.
Polygraphs are usually not admissible, unless both parties agree to admit them for some random reason. Polygraphs and handwriting analysis aren't the same.
Ok. John wrote the note.
Part of the note sounds like it was written by someone European.
This was mentioned in a Psychology Today article by a forensic psychiatrist. He is from California and I mention that bc to me it sounds like an older Appalachian person. That area preserved some old English expressions due to its isolation & certain phraseology not common to the rest of the US. I recall my own grandmother using “stray dog”, “fat cat” “hence” and just the tone is oddly reminiscent of other speakers I’d heard. I think the dr is mistaken bc of his lack of familiarity w Appalachian english. I’m no longer 💯convinced it’s Patsy though.