Martha, I'm not sure that the term has anything to do with domestic violence. Of course, I'm putting my entire faith into the OED entry, which describes the expression as a method derived from practice rather than science. The OED has no quotation from English law that relates to domestic violence, although we can be sure there would be such a quotation if "rule of thumb" did, indeed, derive from the size of the stick used for beating wives. However, in answer to your question, I think you and your co-author should leave the expression in the text unless you discover that English common law does use the expression to prescribe the limits and methods for domestic violence. The expression has worked well since at least 1692. Bill Bolin --- Martha Kolln <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > A reader of "Understanding English Grammar'" has > asked Bob Funk, my > co-author, and me to delete all references to "rules > of thumb" in our > book. It came as a surprise to both of us that the > term was > offensive. It turns out, however, that the > so-called rule has its > origin in the size of the stick that a husband could > use when he beat > his wife! I'm not sure how long ago that rule > applied in its > original state; and I'm also not convinced that > anyone using the term > makes that connection. I do see the term frequently > in books like > ours. > > I'd appreciate any opinions as to the merits of this > objection. > > Martha > > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit > the list's web interface at: > http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html > and select "Join or leave the list" > > Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ > > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/