Utter an Instrument?

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

If Jesus is the Answer, maybe Christians should pay more attention to His reply to violence.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One, Source of Word(s),

You give us the marvelous gift of words. With them we can name, describe, learn, and create new experiences. We can even approach you with them. How amazing is that?

I’ve been playing with words for several years and having a good time with my play. You made me so that I enjoy doing word games and puns. For words stimulate my mind and allow me to spend leisure time in a very pleasurable way.

So I’m grateful for words as tools for communicating who we are, who you are, what our experience is, and how they put all of that together. Simple, compound, complex, long, short, old, new, deep, broad – the diversity of words is almost like that of persons. The language they form is a wonder without which our lives would suffer greatly. What an incredible gift!
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“Mom, how do you like my Mohawk?”

[Oh what an image! But He never said it.]

D. Blog: Women of Crime in WNC (cont.)

Taiwana Geneva Cato, 32, of Asheville, was charged with forging and uttering an instrument. Bond was set at $500.
-- Asheville Citizen-Times, 9-15-2009

I think this is a puzzling combination of the word “utter” and “instrument”. I know about “playing” an instrument, “using” an instrument, “buying” or “selling” an instrument, etc. But “utter”???

At freedictionary.com I found a bottom-of-the-list definition of instrument that seems to fit Taiwana’s crime:

6. A legal document, such as a deed, will, mortgage, or insurance policy.

Again at the bottom, in this case of WordNet’s list of “utter” definitions, I find the other part of this strange coupling:

utter
1. articulate; either verbally or with a cry, shout, or noise; "She expressed her anger"; "He uttered a curse"
express, verbalize, verbalise, give tongue to curse, cuss, blaspheme, swear, imprecate
2. express audibly; utter sounds (not necessarily words); "She let out a big heavy sigh"; "He uttered strange sounds that nobody could understand"
emit, let out, let loose, call
3. express in speech; "She talks a lot of nonsense"; "This depressed patient does not verbalize"
talk, speak, mouth, verbalize, verbalise, communicate, intercommunicate, read
4. put into circulation; "utter counterfeit currency"
circulate, pass around, pass on, distribute

[So, in other words, Taiwana’s crime was trying to cheat somebody…]