Yes, you are but so am I. I guess that linq is all about lazyness, don't you think? ;-) Instead of using single char variable names I mostly use a short descriptive name for the type like 'car' or 'person'. In this case I'd use 'ivpair' instead of sortItem, since the OrderBy is clear enough for me. Also 'item' adds no more clarity than 'i' or 't' because the item type is irrelevant for sorting. The lazyness is IMHO encouraged by the numerous examples available and course exercises; they tend to save on keystrokes and sacrifice maintainance. Can't change the world though...

Exactly.

No, it is not. I really want committed and released code to break on that line on a future change of the GetOrder return type. While developing 'var' is my friend and when done the "use explicit type" refactor option is. :-)