> You know, I thought the very same thing until I saw it repeated in the movie > "Boondock Saints." Just blew me away that it was anything more than legal > trivia. Apparently there are some women that are very offended by the term, > so out of respect I don't use it anymore. Still have to catch myself, > though.
As I said before, the origin of the phrase had nothing to do with wife beating. From the OED: Rule of Thumb: 1. A method or procedure derived entirely from practice or experience, without any basis in scientific knowledge; a roughly practical method. Also, a particular stated rule that is based on practice or experience. 1692 SIR W. HOPE Fencing-Master 157 What he doth, he doth by rule of Thumb, and not by Art. 1721 KELLY Scot. Prov. 257 No Rule so good as Rule of Thumb, if it hit. 1785 GROSE Dict. Vulgar T., Thumb, by rule of thumb, to do a thing by dint of practice. 1802 Sporting Mag. XX. 17 Too often did she apportion the drugs by the rule of thumb. 1865 M. ARNOLD Ess. Crit. v. 159 The English..have in all their changes proceeded, to use a familiar expression, by the rule of thumb... Also, people who were against the disciplines of science and mathematics were referred to as "thumbites". There is some moderately recent history though in which courts mistakenly made the attribution, one in North Carolina, but it's not the actual origin of the term. Even judges can be wrong. http://dynamic.uoregon.edu/~jjf/essays/ruleofthumb.html http://www.straightdope.com/columns/000512.html While I agree that abuse against women should not be condoned, I personally prefer to respect and preserve the original and intended use of the language rather than excise a term because of an urban legend. -Kevin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm?link=t:5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm?link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5 Signup for the Fusion Authority news alert and keep up with the latest news in ColdFusion and related topics. http://www.fusionauthority.com/signup.cfm
