Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 2 of 3 1 2 3
#73049 06/18/02 01:04 AM
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
B
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
B
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
Until recently I had never heard the size-of-a-stick, wife-beating, stick size definition of rule-of-thumb and assumed immediately that it was an urban legend.

I had always been taught that it meant measuring with the tip of your tumb - which is roughly one inch long. An experienced woodworker who always uses this same measure would have been accurate enough. It is like somebody who measure distance with his paces. If you know you pace at three feet then you can be accurate enough.


#73050 06/18/02 01:22 AM
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 833
M
old hand
OP Offline
old hand
M
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 833
Hey bel - or anyone - what about the "foot" measurement coming to us from the length of a ruler's (heh heh) foot? - hey, is that also where we get "ruler" from? the typical ruler being a foot long (though I also have some baby rulers that are half that size).

Let us go in peace to love and serve the board.

#73051 06/18/02 01:31 AM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
W
wwh Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Dear MG: here is a URL with a lot more information about measurements than you really want to know:

http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/custom.html


#73052 06/18/02 01:36 AM
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379
I
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
I
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379
Re: Dr. Bill's URL

To which I would add that a cupit (sp?) or "amot" in Hebrew, is a length measured from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger.


#73053 06/18/02 02:22 AM
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
B
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
B
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
Thanks Bill - quite interesting. I saw a lot of terms I want to know more on. I'll have to go through the entire thing when I have more than a couple of minutes.

----------------------------------------------------------

One question though, since we are in measurements etc.

What do English people call the old wooden yardsticks that folded up onto itself to 6inch final length. In French we call it a King's foot (un pied du roi). You never see that tool anymore but I know my Dad still has one.


#73054 06/18/02 12:44 PM
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,346
F
veteran
Offline
veteran
F
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,346
What do English people call the old wooden yardsticks that folded up onto itself to 6inch final length

I believe it's a "yardstick", no less, choupette

Occurs to me that a rule of thumb is really a ruler of thumb, and the important thing is that it is an inexact measurement, approximation, "near as dammit" thing. If you had the same carpenter/builder constructing something in its entirety, you could use the size of their extremities as measurements without everything going pear-shaped (non-Brit equivalents, folks?) - but once there is more than one person involved in the construction, you simply have to standardise.

Fisk


#73055 06/18/02 08:48 PM
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 39
R
newbie
Offline
newbie
R
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 39
What do English people call the old wooden yardsticks that folded up onto itself to 6inch final length?

Both of my grandfathers were carpenters and they used a "folding ruler" when they wanted something more precise than a rule of thumb (or forearm, or foot, or span). The folding ruler was a 6-foot wooden ruler that did fold up to a length of about 6 or 7 inches. Though spring-wound tape measures seem to be more in vogue today, I believe you can still purchase folding rulers at building supply stores.

Incidentally, would an abdicating king be a "folding ruler"?

(sorry!)
Robert


#73056 06/18/02 10:52 PM
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 688
A
addict
Offline
addict
A
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 688
My hubby has one of these folding rulers, and uses it constantly! He will grab that before a tape measure any time the distance to be measured is 6 feet or less. I looked at his for a name. It is USA made by Columbia and is called an "Eagle Ruler", although I think that is their name for it, not the general populations. I googled it a bit and found a nice picture of one if you aren't sure what we are all talking about. WARNING The purpose that this site shares for needing one is quite gruesome. Don't read the discription if you don't want to be upset.
http://www.csigizmos.com/products/measuringdevices/foldingruler.html

OOPS! Sorry

#73057 06/18/02 11:55 PM
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
B
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
B
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
Hi Angel,

Can you remove everything before the www in your link to make it clickable.




#73058 06/19/02 12:49 AM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
W
wwh Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Dear belMarduk: If you "select" (highlight) the faulty URL, the use edit, copy,,,,edit,paste the faulty URL
into the location box. You can then edit out the troublesome extra characters, and it will work. I just did
it. Bill


Page 2 of 3 1 2 3

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 302 guests, and 2 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5