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Subject:Re: Pet Peeves From:Cloy Tobola <cloy -dot- tobola -at- ndsu -dot- edu> To:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com Date:Tue, 13 Mar 2007 12:02:05 -0500
Dori,
Whether "rule of thumb" is a reference to spousal abuse is highly
questionable. That definition has been attributed to an 18th century
British Judge, Sir Francis Buller, (who supposedly stated that a man was
allowed to legally beat his wife, provided that he used a stick no
thicker than his thumb); however, the term was used in its common
definition as early as the 17th century.
-Cloy
Dori Green wrote:
> Everybody who makes their living using language really should take it upon
> themselves to become informed about sexist and racist language, and delete
> it from their vocabulary.
>
> I've recently seen "rule of thumb" and "dog and pony show" right here on
> this list. Look 'em up, and cut 'em out.
>
> It's the recipient who determines whether or not the message is clear -- or
> hurtful. When we have been informed that certain words and phrases are
> hurtful, we need to stop using them.
>
> Dori Green
>
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