The Origins of “Rule of Thumb”

Posted on March 6, 2008
Filed Under Female Species, WTFish?, UK |

I was surfing random stuff online a while ago using StumbleUpon and arrived at this page containing the following:

rule of thumb -No, this phrase is definitely NOT “P.C”! Who knew? “Rule of thumb” derived from the days when woman were sometimes beaten with a switch. To be “kind” the switch could not be thicker than a thumb’s width. This was made law in 1782 when an English judge stated that men were allowed to beat their wives but that the stick could not be thicker than one’s thumb.

Eh? For real? Weird, I know, so I checked out Wikipedia which sheds more light:

The “rule of thumb” was referenced in at least four legal cases from 1782 to 1897, and in each of the known cases it was referred to only to state its invalidity, with one judge calling it “… a barbarous custom which modern authorities condemn.”

… “It’s certainly the case that, although British common law once held that it was legal for a man to chastise his wife in moderation (whatever that meant), the ‘rule of thumb’ has never been the law in England.”

Yup, who knew? Sounds very familiar doesn’t it?

Evil English men! They are the ones that exported this nastiness together with their colonialism. :)

Comments

15 Responses to “The Origins of “Rule of Thumb””

  1. Nominally Challenged on March 6th, 2008 8:47 am

    Hmm.

    Quoting the Wikipedia article you referenced:

    The term is thought to originate with wood workers who used the length of their thumbs rather than rulers for measuring things.

    …

    Famously, a British judge, Sir Francis Buller, was alleged to have stated that a man may legally beat his wife, provided that he used a stick no thicker than his thumb. 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”

    So no. I don’t buy it. And it was certainly never passed as a law, as the first site suggests.

    The actual meaning of ‘rule of thumb’ is ‘an approximation’ - A rule of thumb is a principle with broad application that is not intended to be strictly accurate or reliable for every situation. (to once again quote Wikipedia).

    The word ‘rule’ here does not have the meaning of ‘law’ but rather, of measurement - it means a ‘ruler’ (the usage is similar to ’slide rule’). In other words, measuring things with your thumb, instead of with a more precise, calibrated ruler, is an approximation.

    It’s fairly simple really, and has no more to do with wife beating than ‘wife beaters’ do, uncouth as that latter term is.

  2. D.B. Shobrawy on March 6th, 2008 9:13 am

    Personally I think beating your wife should be reserved for when you only would want to use objects wider than your thumb, you know those extreme rage filled moments! OK, I joke like an asshole, i know.

  3. suzanne on March 6th, 2008 9:23 am

    also nice

    thumb

    O.E. þuma, from W.Gmc. *thumon- (cf. O.Fris. thuma, O.S., O.H.G. thumo, Ger. Daumen, Du. duim “thumb,” O.N. þumall “thumb of a glove”), lit. “the stout or thick (finger),” from PIE *tum- “swell” (cf. L. tumere “to swell,” tumidus “swollen;” Avestan tuma “fat;” see thigh). For spelling with -b (attested from c.1290), see limb. The verb meaning “to go through” (especially of printed material) is first found 1930, though the related sense of “soil or wear by handling” dates from 1644. Verb meaning “to hitchhike” is 1939, originally the thumb pointed in the direction one wished to travel. Thumbnail sketch (1852) so called for its smallness. To be under (someone’s) thumb “be totally controlled by that person” is recorded from 1586. Thumbs up (1887) and thumbs down (1906) were said to be from expressions of approval or the opposite in ancient amphitheaters, especially gladiator shows, where the gesture decided whether a defeated combatant was spared or slain. But the Roman gesture was merely one of hiding the thumb in the hand or extending it. Perhaps the modern gesture is from the usual coachmen’s way of greeting while the hands are occupied with the reins.
    http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=t&p=11

  4. Nomad on March 6th, 2008 12:43 pm

    “beating your wife should be reserved for when you only would want to use objects wider than your thumb”

    the problem is that there isn’t such object available in UK :lol:

  5. Lynn on March 6th, 2008 1:41 pm

    “Evil English men! They are the ones that exported this nastiness together with their colonialism.”

    I’m pretty sure there were no Englishmen around when the Quran was written. So Drima, maybe it’s the other way around?

  6. Drima on March 6th, 2008 2:13 pm

    NC

    “although British common law once held that it was legal for a man to chastise his wife in moderation (whatever that meant)”

    That’s what stood out to me. Not the alleged law, but the part that I quoted.

    Lynn, interpretations dear. And you might wanna improve your sense of humor. ;)

  7. Drima on March 6th, 2008 2:16 pm

    DB, super LOL! :D

    Welcome back to the blogosphere and sorry about the missed email replies!

  8. suzanne on March 6th, 2008 3:55 pm

    In the movie Rendition there is a quote, which goes something like this:

    “In Egypt we have a saying: “Hit your wife every morning. If you do not know why, she knows.”

    heh :P As a woman I had to laugh anyway ;)

  9. Nominally Challenged on March 7th, 2008 9:50 am

    Drima,

    The existence of corporal punishment in England or elsewhere shouldn’t come as a surprise. What is interesting in your quote is the statement ‘whatever that meant’. This nineteenth century judge who quotes this principle clearly cannot understand it and rejects it.

  10. Aims on March 7th, 2008 10:10 am

    hahah I agree with Lynn. LOL

    You know all this stuff abt Eastern cultures being so much older n such… maybe it the East that influenced the West (;

  11. Aims on March 7th, 2008 10:10 am

    hahah I agree with Lynn. LOL

    You know all this stuff abt Eastern cultures being so much older n such… maybe it’s the East that influenced the West (;

  12. Lynn on March 7th, 2008 11:47 am

    ‘And you might wanna improve your sense of humor’

    I’m sorry Drima. My sense of humor takes a vacation when it comes to men believing that they have power(especially God given)over a woman.

  13. Drima on March 7th, 2008 1:25 pm

    LOL, it’s time to end the vacation I guess. :P

    As for me personally, don’t worry. I’m a feminist (and yes boys can be feminists too). Yaay to women’s rights! No sarcasm. I swear! :)

  14. Drima on March 7th, 2008 1:28 pm

    “My sense of humor takes a vacation”

    Hehehe! And are you sure it takes a vacation? Coz the idea in itself already sounds funny. You do have one whether you admit it or not Lynn. ;)

  15. Lynn on March 7th, 2008 3:53 pm

    I’m well aware that men can be feminists but I’d also I’d have to wonder how you define feminism. But that’s OK, you don’t have to.

    Drima you are right. Actually I do have a very lively sense of humor and I can make a man laugh his ass off even as I’m squeezing the life out of his balls for assuming that he might have authority over me! Seriously, ask my husband. LOL

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