What does the "Rule of thumb" mean?
Answers:
7 inches.xx
a very general/generalised rule
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Good luck.
Kevin, Liverpool, England.
Isn't this to do with years ago, husbands could beat their wives with a stick no thicker than their thumb??
Some kinda method or task that comes from practice/experience without any.. lessons or similar.
Mind you, this is an approximation without scientific and mathematical rules. For example, the ancients used parts of their body (like the thumb) for measurements.
Generalised
It refers to an estimate of something. "By rule of thumb, that tree looks to be 100' tall."
Generally accepted/prevailing way.
a general rule of a given game or prcatice. However in emergency medical service it means to hold up your thumb and if you can see an accident or unsafe scene, with explosive or hazerdous materials, or the thumb doesn't cover it up totally you are to close and need to move back further.
For more than 300 years "rule of thumb" has meant what most people think it means: any rough-and-ready method of estimating. It's believed to have originated with woodworkers, who made measurements with their thumbs. For more than 20 years, however, some feminists have maintained that rule of thumb has the darker meaning alluded to above. They say that the principle of regulated wife beating was elucidated in the famous legal commentaries of William Blackstone (1723-'80), the basis of much U.S. common law, and that it prevailed in state courts well into the 19th century.
"in general" though there may be exceptions to the rule.
Rule of thumb refers to shortcuts to solutions to new problems that resemble problems previously solved by experienced workers.
Dictionary Explanation:
A useful principle having wide application but not intended to be strictly accurate or reliable in every situation.
The noun rule of thumb has one meaning:
a rule or principle that provides guidance to appropriate behavior
Synonyms: guidepost, guideline
The term "rule of thumb" or similar exists in many languages and cultures. Its exact origins are a point of debate as it has such widespread usage that it is hard to determine which usage spawned the term as opposed to the other way around.
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.
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
Rough and ready rule, not precise
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