If Latchless was literate, "wide BERTH" would have been used.
Dorks like him give North Carolina hillbillies a bad name.

The proper expression is "if latchless WERE literate," but of course pests
from mazoora have their own vernacular. And poor memories too.
........

Idiom:
a wide berth

Ample space or distance to avoid an unwanted consequence:
gave their angry colleague a wide berth.

Yeah, I taught you that, because you printed in this NG sometime back (and
were so ashamed after you said it that you didn't want it archived for
posterity) that henceforth you were giving Wingy "a wide birth."

Now go study the verb "lie, lay, lain." You have big trouble with it.
You don't want to die illiterate, do you?