Who can tell me the correct origin of the expression "Rule of Thumb?"?

Question

No correct answers so far, so I'll give you a clue, it is to do with measurement but not that a thumb's dimension is equal to one inch.

talkingformydog you are right about it's meaning but I am asking about the origin of the phrase not its present meaning

Ah, your getting closer in is from carpenters but not as the article suggests

lonijean, no that was just invented by some psychologically walped women

Last answer was vivian still no ones got it yet, so another clue. It refers to a common technique used by carpenters and its not marking out an inch with your thumb.

Ok, no right answers so over to a vote

Answer 1

It's a crappy history because it's all about violence toward women, which always sucks and is always wrong.

Rule of thumb
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Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

A rule of thumb is a principle with broad application that is not intended to be strictly accurate or reliable for every situation. It is an easily learned and easily applied procedure for approximately calculating or recalling some value, or for making some determination. Compare this to heuristic, a similar concept used in mathematical discourse, or in computer science, particularly in algorithm design. See also mnemonic.

1. REDIRECT [['== Origin of the term ==']]

The term "rule of thumb" or similar exists in many languages and cultures.
Contents
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* 1 Domestic violence/discipline
* 2 Use as a physical measurement
* 3 Use in taking temperature
* 4 The Russian Tzar
* 5 Used to determine wind direction
* 6 Used for plate settings at the Royal table
* 7 Examples of usage
* 8 See also

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Domestic violence/discipline

It is often claimed that the term originally referred to the maximum thickness of a stick with which it was permissible for a man to beat his wife. This explanation for the origin of the term was popularized in the opening of the 1999 movie The Boondock Saints.
Caricature condemning Buller
Enlarge
Caricature condemning Buller

Linguist Michael Quinion, citing the research of Sharon Fenick, notes that there are some examples of a related usage historically — most notably with regard to a supposed pronouncement by a British judge, Sir Francis Buller. However, it is questionable whether Buller ever made such a pronouncement and there is even less evidence that he phrased it as a "rule of thumb"; the rumored statement was so unpopular that it caused him to be lambasted as "Judge Thumb" in a satirical James Gillray cartoon. According to Quinion, the term "Rule of Thumb" was first documented in English in 1692, long before Buller's reported pronouncement. The first known usage of the phrase "rule of thumb" in direct reference to domestic violence was in 1976, in the book Battered Wives by Del Martin.
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Use as a physical measurement

The measurement of an inch is derived from the distance between the base of the thumbnail and the first joint. This is a plausible origin as the thumb is often used for rough measurement by carpenters, seamstresses, artists and many others.
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Use in taking temperature

Pete's Wicked Trivia, promotional material for Pete's Wicked Ale, states that the phrase came from brewers who dipped their thumbs in the product to detemine that the beer wort had cooled to the proper temperature for adding yeast, before the advent of thermometers.
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The Russian Tzar

The Russian Tzar Alexander II has been suggested as the creator of this term. In an apocryphal story he is said to have drawn the route of a railroad from St. Petersburg to Moscow, accidentally tracing his thumb. The engineers, nervous about disobeying his orders, laid the tracks with an unnecessary curve according to the line drawn.
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Used to determine wind direction

A technique for approximating the general direction of the wind involves wetting the thumb then raising it in the air.
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Used for plate settings at the Royal table

A technique for setting a row of plates an equal distance from the table edge. Plate setters, setting plates for an English Royal banquet place the plate against the tip of the thumb while holding the arch of the thumb and first finger against the table edge.
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Examples of usage

Financial - Rule of 72 A rule of thumb for exponential growth at a constant rate. Divide 72 by the percent interest rate to determine the approximate amount of time to double your money in an investment. For example, at 10% interest, your money will double in approximately 7.2 years (72/10=7.2).

Tailors' Rule of Thumb A simple approximation that was used by tailors to determine the wrist, neck, and waist circumferences of a person through one single measurement of the circumference of that person's thumb. The rule states, typically, that twice the circumference of a person's thumb is the circumference of their wrist, twice the circumference of the wrist is the circumference of the neck, and twice around the neck is the person's waist. For example, if the circumference of the thumb is 4 inches, then the wrist circumference is 8 inches, the neck is 16 and the waist is 32. An interesting consequence of this is that — for those to whom the rule applies — this simple method can be used to determine if pants will fit: the pants are wrapped around the neck, and if the two ends barely touch, then they will fit. Any overlap or lack thereof corresponds to the pants being too loose or tight, respectively.

Answer 2

On most adult human hands, the distance from the tip of the thumb to the first knuckle is approximately one inch, as is the distance from the first knuckle to the base of the thumb. Ergo, if you are bereft of a measuring implement, you can use your thumb as an impromptu ruler.

I'm disgusted with folks who think it has to do with the maximum acceptable stick for wife-beating. I read some treatises on the topic when I was in junior high, and anyone who advocated corporal discipline on a recalcitrant wife always advocated whipping rather than beating, and always below the neck. After all, if you use a stick, you could cause serious injury and diminish her utility while she recovered, and if you beat or whip her in the face, it makes it obvious to the world that she's a bad wife.

Answer 3

Despite what you may hear in "Gender Studies" courses at your local university, 'The Rule of Thumb' had nothing to do with domestic violence until some feminist re-defined the term in the mid-1970's.
Even in centuries ago, there was no rule saying that it was alright to beat your wife with a stick less than an inch in diameter.

Answer 4

I thought it was the Romans in the coloseum in Rome. Did the ruler not decide if some-one lived or died. A thumbs up meant they lived a thumbs down meant they died. A friend of a friend went to Europe once and told me that story over a few beers. However he also slept with my wife behind my back. He was a bastard. I aint speaking to him now.

Answer 5

the middle joint of the average thumb on a man is about an inch wide and used to be used by carpnters as a rough measure.

Answer 6

The width of an average mans thumb is 1 inch. Hence the rule of thumb.

Answer 7

I know that it is NOT what most people think it is...

Being "In ancient times, it was OK for a man to beat his wife as long as the stick was no larger than his thumb." That is NOT TRUE.

I am trying to find an article on it's true origin.

Answer 8

The distance apart in the poll for worlds most insane head of government, Bush v Blair ,Bush just being a thumb in front,obviously ?

Answer 9

"rule of thumb" means : A general guideline, rather than a strict rule; an approximate measure or means of reckoning based on experience or common knowledge.

Answer 10

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thumb/

and it does actually have some to do with domestic violence but most of the ways it can be traced are using the thumb as a ruler or measuring device