4/25/2023 0 Comments Rule of thumb origin(and FYI femjur's address is femjur AT ) Stephanie Riger Univ of Il at Chicago +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The 1917 Law review article, "Right of Husband to Chastise Wife," 3 Virginia Law Register 239 (1917), states the rule of thumb as the common law rule and cites as examples two NC cases: State v. I recently queried femjur, the feminist jurisprudence net, on the same subject and got some responses that hadn't appeared on wmst-l. Subject: rule of thumb A few months ago someone on this list asked for primary sources for the "rule of thumb" referring to the size of the stick with which one could beat one's wife (in English common law). of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Bitnet: megmclau AT uiucvmd Internet: megmclau AT = By the way, the "common law" is the legal system, not a particular piece of legislation. ![]() He's one of (perhaps THE) leading experts in the history of the common law, and might be able to point you in the right direction. Ruth-I don't know what the origins are, but I suggest that you get in touch with Richard Helmholz, in the History Dept. Subject: Rule of Thumb Ruth Ginzburg asked about the origins of the "rule of thumb" in the English common law. I wonder for instance just when that back-formed 'origin' came into being? -Philip Hiscock philiph AT = I'd like to see the accumulated references to the wife-beating explanation. The term was already in metaphorical use by the late 17th century. Instead they'd measure things by, for example, the length of their thumb they measured, not by a rule(r) of wood, but by rule of thumb. (The folk etymology of 'asparagus' as 'sparrow-grass' and the plague interpretation of 'Ring Around the Rosie' are two others.) The real explanation of 'rule-of-thumb' is that is derives from wood workers (or other constructors) who knew their trade so well they rarely or never fell back on the use of such things as rulers. It is typical of such back-formed explanations well-known to linguists and folklorists. The whip thing is a bit of modern folklore. It won't state straight out that such-and-such is the case, but if you know how to read the OED you can often figure out likelihoods. >- >Ruth Ginzberg >Philosophy Department Wesleyan University USA The only place I know to look for answers to such questions is the OED. >Please reply privately, and I will summarize for the list if there is interest. ![]() I'm beginning >to wonder if this is another Academic Myth. never turn up any actual reference to a legal >decision citing this "common law" or even any reference to it. ![]() >For the last 6 or 7 years I have been looking for **RELIABLE** confirmation >of this, and/or the earliest legal reference to this "Common Law." I have >found MANY sources that *claim* that it stems from English Common Law, but >searches of legal decisions (by friends who are lawyers or legal researchers) >and/or of Blackstone, etc. Subject: Rule of thumb folklore Ruth Ginzberg posted the following to LORE from Maureen Korp (originally to the Women's Studies List): >Does anyone know of a *RELIABLE* *primary* source for the history of >the phrase, "Rule of Thumb?" >The story - often repeated in print & orally - is this: > The phrase "Rule of Thumb" comes from English Common > Law which deemed it a man's right to beat his wife > with a stick no thicker than the diameter of his thumb. For additional WMST-L files now available on the Web, see the WMST-L File Collection. They have been put together in this file to make it easy to find this information without sending yet more queries (and responses) to WMST-L. What follows are some of the responses people have sent to the list over the years. ![]() Origin(s) of "Rule of Thumb" Origin(s) of "Rule of Thumb" Queries about the phrase "rule of thumb" have appeared repeatedly on WMST-L.
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