Guideline v. guidepost v rule of thumb
I would like to ask you which of the following is in the same sense, correct and natural?
1. About 2,500 scientists meeting in Prague have adopted historic new guidelines that see the small, distant world demoted to a secondary category.
2. About 2,500 scientists meeting in Prague have adopted historic new guideposts that see the small, distant world demoted to a secondary category.
3. About 2,500 scientists meeting in Prague have adopted historic new rule of thumbs that see the small, distant world demoted to a secondary category.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5282440.stm
Thank you.
Top answer
(2) sounds odd. The plural of "rule of thumb" is "rules of thumb". A "rule of thumb" is not the same as a "guideline".
- (2) sounds odd.
- The plural of "rule of thumb" is "rules of thumb".
- A "rule of thumb" is not the same as a "guideline".
- A "rule of thumb" is a rough or approximate way of doing something -- a way that suffices for most practical situations but is not the fully exact theoretical answer.
- To say that a "rule of thumb" is "historic" sounds kind of weird.
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(2) sounds odd.
The plural of "rule of thumb" is "rules of thumb". A "rule of thumb" is not the same as a "guideline". A "rule of thumb" is a rough or approximate way of doing something -- a way that suffices for most practical situations but is not the fully exact theoretical answer. To say that a "rule of thumb" is "historic" sounds kind of weird.
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