In another leading textbook, this is a footnote to a comment on how some groups use “Rules of Thumb” to allocate a good or service:
Sensitivity check. Although this phrase has been associated with the shocking idea that a husband can beat his wife so long as the stick is no thicker than his thumb, the more likely source is the historical use of body parts as rules to measure things.
Thanks for that. I expect subsequent editions to include chapters on, “How to Play Nice,” “Why Johnny Should Share Toys with Timmy,” and “It’s OK to Cry if you Don’t Get What You Want.” There ar, however, a good many excellent chapters in this same book.
That isn’t even where the phrase “rule of thumb” comes from. Maybe the book authors should have checked wikipedia first.
“The earliest citation comes from Sir William Hope’s The Compleat Fencing-Master, second edition, 1692, page 157: “What he doth, he doth by rule of thumb, and not by art.” The term is thought to originate with wood workers who used the length of their thumbs rather than rulers for measuring things, cementing its modern use as an inaccurate, but reliable and convenient standard.”
I am amazed with it. It is a good thing for my research. Thanks