Rule of thumb

[rollerkoster]

i got the meaning of rule of thumb. i answer the poll wrong though. because i think, since there are only 2 thumbs, that it would be exact.

Originally Posted by philadelphia

In what context could I use this idiom?

X: I followed the instructions of someone. He told me to look for what I want in my dictionary.
Y: It's rule of thumb that.

Am I into deep? Or does it work?

i don't know what he means so i don't know what's wrong with that. anyone care to explain? thanks..

[RonBee]

Originally Posted by rollerkoster

i got the meaning of rule of thumb. i answer the poll wrong though. because i think, since there are only 2 thumbs, that it would be exact.



i don't know what he means so i don't know what's wrong with that. anyone care to explain? thanks..

I don't know what he means either. It seems to be a non sequitur.
.

www.dictionary.com

[Mad-ox]

For a better understanding of this idiom, I need some illustrations with sentences.


Thank you in advance,

Madox

[RonBee]

A couple of explanations:
.

Rule of thumb
Rule of thumb - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

.
A zillion rules of thumb:
.

RulesofThumb.org - Homepage

[rollerkoster]

Originally Posted by RonBee

A zillion rules of thumb:
.

RulesofThumb.org - Homepage

thanks for this...

[nitikasnv]

Hi,

rule of thumb:A rule or principle that provides guidance to appropriate behavior.

Thanks

[Andylu2]

I learned about this one recently in class. A rule of thumb is a general rule. It isn't exact. You could say that it is a rule of thumb that you should wait 20 minutes after eating before going swimming.

[TheLondoner]

One of the stories I've heard about rule of thumb comes from Elizabethan England (16th century).

The male head of house was allowed to keep a stick with which he could punish the children, servants (and even his wife!).

The rule, however, was that the stick should never be thicker than his thumb.

[admiral]

"Rule of Thumb" refers historically to taking an approximate measurement.

Its use as an expression generally refers to the idea of making an approximate or 'usual' (non-specific) determination about a situation.

An alternate way of saying this would be "a general rule" meaning that in most cases a rule is usually correct to a situation but acknowledging that there might be occasional exceptions to said rule.

A good example of a rule of thumb is that a person should wait for an hour after eating before swimming.

It should be noted that the phrase has come under attack by various misinformed feminists as having to do with a legal term regarding the size of stick with which a man was allegedly allowed to beat his wife. However, after much debate, that particularly usage has been discredited.

So, the rule of thumb when using the expression "rule of thumb" is that you will be referring to an approximate or general rule.

Hopefully that is helpful.

[lebai]

before this, i think "rule of thumb" is a technical term.
thanks to all because of the brief explanation..