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Despotism and male chauvinism. | |
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TRIVIA TODAY - Tuesday, April 8, 2008
"Six Items a Day of Enduring Insignificance"
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Greetings Infomaniacs,
Since we have something of a word theme going in today's
issue, I thought I would address a popular misconception
that has been circulated around the Internet (and even in
this publication a couple times) and get it right once and
for all!
Most of us have probably read that the phrase "rule of thumb"
is derived from an old English law which stated that you
couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.
Actually, that's a piece of folk etymology. The phrase refers
to the use of rough and ready practical experience rather
than formal procedures in getting something done. It's most
likely that the saying comes from carpenters using the length
of the first joint of the thumb, which is about an inch long,
to measure things.
So "rule" refers to a ruler in the sense of measurement, not
of despotism or male chauvinism. Other parts of the body were
used as a ruler, too. A foot was determined by a pace, the
distance from the tip of the nose to the outstretched fingers
is roughly a yard, and horse heights are still measured by
hands—the width of the palm and closed thumb is about four
inches.
Enjoy!
Your Trivia Today editor
P.S. You can discuss this issue or any other topic in
the new Trivia Today forum. Check it out here...
Trivia Today Forum
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TODAY'S MYSTERY QUOTE
QUOTE: "The right word may be effective, but no word was
ever as effective as a rightly timed pause."
HINT: (1835–1910) This successful and extremely popular
humorist, satirist, lecturer and writer was called the
father of American literature.
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RANDOM TIDBITS
A magic potion or charm thought to arouse sexual love, es-
pecially toward a specific person, is known as a "philter."
***
The last thing to happen is the ultimate. The next-to-last
is the penultimate, and the second-to-last is the antepen-
ultimate.
***
The study of word origins is called etymology. The study
of insects is called entomology.
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A small European plum named a "sloe" is used to flavor the
liqueur called "sloe gin." You should probably sip it
slowly, but that has nothing to do with its name.
***
Rio is Spanish for "river," so "Rio Grande River" is a
redundancy. Just write "Rio Grande." Non-Hispanic Americans
have traditionally failed to pronounce the final E in
"Grande", but they've learned to do it for the large size
of latte, so perhaps it's time to start saying it the proper
Spanish way: "REE-oh GRAHN-day." Or to be really inter-
national we could switch to the Mexican name: "Rio Bravo."
***
A path with a confusing proliferation of turns is tortuous
(from a French root meaning "twisted"). But "torturous"
(meaning painful or unpleasant, like torture) is very fre-
quently confused with it. So often has "tortuous logic"
(tangled, twisted logic) been misspelled as "torturous
logic" that it has given rise to a now independent form
with its own meaning, "tortured logic." Few people object
to the latter; but if you want to describe your slow pro-
gress along a twisting path, the word you want is "tortuous."
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*** Weekly Mind-Scrambler ***
Never resting, never still.
Moving silently from hill to hill.
It does not walk, run or trot,
All is cool where it is not.
What is it?
Submit your answer by visiting: www.thedailytease.com
Answer will be posted in Friday's Trivia Today. Good Luck!
If your name appears in Friday's newsletter,
email me your complete name and address and I will ship
your prize.
Be sure to put "Winner" in the subject line.
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QUOTE: "The right word may be effective, but no word was
ever as effective as a rightly timed pause."
ANSWER: Mark Twain
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END OF TRIVIA TODAY
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