The phrase joins the whole nine yards as one that probably derives from some form of measurement but which is unlikely ever to be definitively pinned down.'Īnother theory is that the coarseness of ground flour produced by windmills in England was assessed by the miller rubbing it between his thumb and forefinger. It is likely that it refers to one of the numerous ways that thumbs have been used to estimate things-judging the alignment or distance of an object by holding the thumb in one's eye-line, the temperature of brews of beer, measurement of an inch from the joint to the nail to the tip, or across the thumb, etc.

That is, a rule '(measurement) of thumb.' According to Gary Martin, 'The origin of the phrase remains unknown. The plants need a fairly precise depth to seed properly, whether planted from seed or being replanted, but the depth can sometimes be estimated using the thumb. The use of a single word or cognate for 'inch' and 'thumb' is common in many other Indo-European languages, for example, French: pouce inch/thumb Italian: pollice inch/thumb Spanish: pulgada inch, pulgar thumb Portuguese: polegada inch, polegar thumb Swedish: tum inch, tumme thumb Sanskrit: angulam inch, anguli finger Slovak: palec, Slovene: palec inch/thumb, Czech: palec inch/thumb.Īnother possible origin of the phrase comes from measurement, in particular in agricultural fields.

This sense of thumb as a unit of measure also appears in Dutch, in which the word for thumb, duim, also means inch.

You should tip bellmen $1- $2 per bag, as a rule of thumb.The term is thought to originate with wood workers who used the width of their thumbs (i.e., inches) rather than rulers for measuring things, cementing its modern use as an imprecise yet reliable and convenient standard.

That’s after taxes and before any matching contribution from your employer. A good rule of thumb for the percentage of your income you should save is 15. Usually you will find it harder (khó hn) to fall asleep.

The rule of thumb is that XML expands by a factor of ten when reading into memory. As a rule of thumb (theo kinh nghim), you shouldn’t exercise (tp th dc) shortly (ít lâu) before going to bed.

In general, the rule of thumb was that one’s peers were seconded to perform the role.

As a rule of thumb, you should cook a chicken for 20 minutes for each pound that it weighs.

A good rule of thumb is that a broker must generate sales of ten times his salary if his employer is to make a profit.

Person 1: “There was a backlog of dirt in the pipe, a good rule of thumb is to clean the pipe monthly.”.

Person 1: “I have finished the work on your sink.”.

The next conversation is taking place between a plumber and a client.

Person 1: “I will, I have a rule of thumb that I do not drive faster than 50mph.”.

Person 2: “Well done but you must remember to drive safely.”.

Person 1: “I have passed my driving test.”.

The first conversation is taking place between a father and son. There may be many different types of conversation in which you might hear the term rule of thumb, we are now going to take a look at some examples of this.

I apply all of my make up with a sponge as a rule of thumb.

If you are struggling with the software, a good rule of thumb is to restart the computer.

The first statement is being made by an employer.

The saying rule of thumb is a common one heard in English, we will now look at some examples of the phrase in use. “Rule of Thumb” Examples Example Sentences There are many other ways in which you might express the meaning of the idiomatic term rule of thumb, here are some examples of other things you might say which carry the same meaning. This concept was commonplace in the 1700s. The phrase rule of thumb finds its origins in English history when men were permitted to bash their wives physically provided that the rod they used was no thicker than their own thumb. The term rule of thumb refers to a general way of doing something that is not particularly precise of accurate but is the most common and known way to complete the task at hand.

Rule of thumb origin