Uri, Inc. v. Kleberg Cnty.

A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged, it is the skin of a living thought and may vary greatly in color and content according to the circumstances and the time in which it is used.

-Oliver Wendell Holmes

We have long articulated a principle of contract construction that permits courts to consult the facts and circumstances surrounding a negotiated contract's execution to aid the interpretation of its language.2 Despite expounding on this principle from time to time, and as recently as last term,3 it remains susceptible to confusion and inconsistency when applied to unambiguous…