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Article: Rules of thumb.
- Article from:
- Point of Beginning
- Article date:
- June 1, 2006
- Author:
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When I was a young boy, I recall many times hearing the phrase "the rule of thumb is ..." or "as a rule of thumb." I'm sure I originally looked at my thumb and wondered what a "rule of my thumb" could mean.
As with many of us who are now sporting gray hair, I was familiar with a ruler on my fingers by one or more of my teachers. Ouch, that got my attention. I'm sure after a while I realized that rule of thumb meant a rule that could generally be used as a standard to obtain a quick solution to a situation.
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With a little research, I found that the expression "rule of thumb" has been historically recorded since the year ...