Re: Pet Peeves

[Amy Gale <amyg -at- grammatech -dot- com>]

Gordon McLean wrote:

>"rule of thumb"?
>
>I'm genuinely curious as to why this is either sexist or racist. Yes I
>wouldn't use it in documentation but... No someone smarter than me will need
>to point out why that statement is 'bad'.
>  
>
Some people believe that it originated from a law stating a man could 
beat his wife with a switch no thicker than his thumb.

My (admittedly nonexhaustive) research suggests that
1) Nobody has ever found this law, and
2) The earliest textual reference to the law is dated...1976

A more general question: are _any_ of the "well known" origins of 
commonly used phrases accurate? I always assume not. Likewise, any 
stories about the origins of words as acronyms (technical terms 
excepted. And "gulag".).

A
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