From: "Andy" <as-AT-spelthorne.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: Thumb controversy
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1999 15:07:39 +0100




>
>On Fri, 16 Jul 1999, Dave & Keri Coull wrote:
>
>> >when you get Keri back home that it's illegal to beat
>> >her with a rod thicker than your thumb (UK fun fact).
>>
>> Well I'm sorry to spoil the joke (well not _very_ sorry),
>> I hate to be pedantic about this.......no, that's not true,
>> I love being pedantic, I've been taking lessons from Andy.
>> But are you saying there is actually such a law still
>> on the statute book ?
>
>The phrase "Rule of thumb" allegedly has its roots in old english common
>law in which it was purported it was all right for a man to beat his wife
>as long as he didn't use a stick bigger around than his thumb.
>
>danceswith-all-of-those-folklore-classes-weren't-a-waste-carp
>


I thought it was less colourful - that the thumb was more or less an inch
thick for measure type ruling purposes- the yard being the length from some
king's [Henry 1/II?] nose to his finger tip. Being a modest and understated
race, we called the interim measure a foot so as not to frighten the horses.

Bring back chains, bushels and furlongs.

Incidentally a friend [dcd]  who aided  the heroic/despicable [delete as
applicable] Serb partisans, and later some Greek ones, in the Balkan war
which everyone joined in [vers2.0] said that they always measured time in
cigarettes when co-ordinating action against the Nazis. So the railways were
derailed at 30 cigarettes from now etc. For the poor bastards smoking the
fags, it must have been like being a rear gunner in a Lancaster only less
immediate.