A rule or a ruler

[dune]

I was having an argument at work yesterday when I asked to borrow a rule and the woman said do you mean a ruler, to which I replied that I mean a rule and went on to explain that a ruler is a king, a rule is a measuring stick. She then looks in the dictionary and it says a ruler is a measuring stick which i then said must be a new addition to the dictionary to cater for the widely used term of ruler used by thick people. I am right aren't I.

[Sevvy]

I am with you on this one Dune, A ruler = King or Queen or similar, A rule draws straight lines or measures,

[pap]

It has been added to the dictionary.

 

ruler(n)

1. One, such as a monarch or dictator, that rules or governs.

2. A straightedged strip, as of wood or metal, for drawing straight lines and measuring lengths. Also called rule.

[shurlock]

And there I was getting a massive Verbal-esque hard-on, thinking this was going to be a philosophical discussion of the social contract and the nature of personal versus impersonal authority . Internet mongboards who would have thought it.

 

Ruler ffs.

[trousers]

I was having an argument at work yesterday when I asked to borrow a rule and the woman said do you mean a ruler, to which I replied that I mean a rule and went on to explain that a ruler is a king, a rule is a measuring stick. She then looks in the dictionary and it says a ruler is a measuring stick which i then said must be a new addition to the dictionary to cater for the widely used term of ruler used by thick people. I am right aren't I.

 

Yes, you are correct. Precisely the same thing happened with the definition of "Boxing Day" (i.e. over time, the definition was evolved to match common usage by dim people)

[Hatch]

it's ruler

[dune]

And there I was getting a massive Verbal-esque hard-on, thinking this was going to be a philosophical discussion of the social contract and the nature of personal versus impersonal authority . Internet mongboards who would have thought it.

 

Ruler ffs.

 

it's ruler

 

No it's not, you both just don't know the correct term.

[pap]

And there I was getting a massive Verbal-esque hard-on, thinking this was going to be a philosophical discussion of the social contract and the nature of personal versus impersonal authority . Internet mongboards who would have thought it.

 

ps. ruler ffs.

 

On the contrary, my good man. dune has just discovered that words of the same spelling can have different meanings.

 

Later on this week, he will discover that 'bird' is also a slang term for female, and much hilarity will ensue.

[Ken Tone]

Well just to add another slant to this fascinating but controversial topic ---

 

To me a ruler is, and always has been, the correct term for a rigid meauring stick , be it a foot , 30 cm or a metre long. however a 'rule' is the correct term for a flexible measuring device, typically a metal rule of 2 metres upwards in length, that rolls up into a holder, eg

 

[Sergei Gotsmanov]

as a rule it is a ruler in my household

[hutch]

however a 'rule' is the correct term for a flexible measuring device, typically a metal rule of 2 metres upwards in length, that rolls up into a holder, eg

 

No it isn't. That's a tape measure.

 

Or is it a measuring tape?

[buctootim]

'Rule' is the verb - you 'rule' a sheet of paper when you draw lines on it. Ruler is the noun (object)

[JackFrost]

It's one rule for some people and another rule for everyone else

[dubai_phil]

As a rule I think you will find that both get used

[OttawaSaint]

then there is a "slide rule"...

[Frank's cousin]

And also the FL rules that the Skates ignore?

[Thorpe-le-Saint]

'Rule' is the verb - you 'rule' a sheet of paper when you draw lines on it. Ruler is the noun (object)

 

Damn it, you stole my thunder.

[KK the 2nd]

as a rule it is a ruler in my household

 

as a ruler it is a rule in my househould

[Ken Tone]

This the sort of thread I pay my £5 for. Can we move on to how to pronounce 'controversy' next?

[gaz]

Cortese out.

[Petersfield Saint]

20 posts in and I can't believe nobody's done the gag "Mine's 12 inches but I don't use it as a rule"

 

Well I certainly won't

[Gingeletiss]

Rule...................I have this argument all the time.

[latter day saint]

Ruler if you wear trousers

Rule if you wear slacks

[Ken Tone]

20 posts in and I can't believe nobody's done the gag "Mine's 12 inches but I don't use it as a rule"

 

Well I certainly won't

 

Well if the 'cap' fits .......

[ecuk268]

'Rule' is the verb - you 'rule' a sheet of paper when you draw lines on it. Ruler is the noun (object)

 

According to the OED, "ruler" is also a verb. If you whack someone with a rule® you have rulered them.

[Colinjb]

I call it a ruler. It's now been added to the dictionary thanks to common use. Evolution of language at work, interesting to see.

 

I wonder how long it will take for LOL, LMFAO and FFS to be recognised, along with Txtspeak.

[trousers]

'Rule' is the verb - you 'rule' a sheet of paper when you draw lines on it. Ruler is the noun (object)

 

Nope. 'Rule' is also a noun :-)

[trousers]

And then you've got people who use the word "dice" when refering to one "die".

[Verbal]

And then you've got people who use the word "dice" when refering to one "die".

 

Refering?

 

Anyway, it's RULER. This thread can now be locked.

[pap]

And then you've got people who use the word "dice" when refering to one "die".

 

Not guilty m'lud.

 

Played Dungeons and Dragons with my pals at school, and soon had this "dice" nonsense drummed out of me.

[The Majestic Channon]

Rule...................I have this argument all the time.

 

 

You sound like a right laugh

[dune]

This the sort of thread I pay my £5 for. Can we move on to how to pronounce 'controversy' next?

 

con-trov-er-sy. FACT

[saintbletch]

Not guilty m'lud.

 

Played Dungeons and Dragons with my pals at school, and soon had this "dice" nonsense drummed out of me.

 

...I've just had a vision of you sitting in the middle of a circle of your mates, all standing over you, holding hands and slowly circling you whilst repeating the words "die, die, die...".

 

Odd.

 

Anyway, as to Rule or Ruler. Either works for me.

 

I guess a rule that you could use would be whether you want to measure or draw a straight line. To my mind the different uses of the words came about when the ruler was more readily available and its use became as much about drawing a striaght line at school as measuring something at work/home.

 

So a rule's primary purpose is/was to measure (rule on a measurement) but a ruler has come to mean something that allows a straight line to be drawn as well as measured.

 

Then again, perhaps I'm thinking too hard about it.

[Micky]

Ruler 1, FFS

[Ken Tone]

con-trov-er-sy. FACT

 

Is that con-TROV-er-sy or con-trov-Er-sy, or con-trover-sy? It's always controversial.

[Dimond Geezer]

It depends who I'm talking too, at home I always call it a ruler, (incremented in cm, in etc), but in my line if work I use a scale rule, which is a ruler incremented with various scales for measuring scaled drawings, although this is usually refered to as a "scale".

[Ohio Saint]

A rule should not be used for drawing straight lines. If you do that you are abusing it. You should use a designated straight edge for drawing a straight line. Bloody thickos.

[hutch]

A rule should not be used for drawing straight lines. If you do that you are abusing it. You should use a designated straight edge for drawing a straight line. Bloody thickos.

Ah! Somebody else who got an "A" in Tech Drawing.

[Ohio Saint]

Ah! Somebody else who got an "A" in Tech Drawing.

 

Those lessons kinda sink in don't they?

[hamster]

I never worked out how to split an air

 

in my house we use measuring sticks btw.

[SNSUN]

[hamster]

 

Lovely lady, not as lovely as the lovely Julie Covington though. Right up there with Erica Rowe, Linda Lusardey (sp) and many others of the time.

[gaz]

Rule 34.

 

[Whitey Grandad]

A ruler is that wooden thing you used to use at school. A rule is that metal thing that you use in an engineering workshop.

 

And it's pronounced 'controversy'.

[Badger]

A ruler is that wooden thing you used to use at school. A rule is that metal thing that you use in an engineering workshop.

 

.

 

My old Technical Drawing teacher at school would always insist on it as being called a "rule", which supports your view, and in Maths it was often (incorrectly) called either, except when it was a "slide rule".

 

Tell that to kids today, they've no idea of either 'Technical Drawing' or slide rules.

[Whitey Grandad]

My old Technical Drawing teacher at school would always insist on it as being called a "rule", which supports your view, and in Maths it was often (incorrectly) called either, except when it was a "slide rule".

 

Tell that to kids today, they've no idea of either 'Technical Drawing' or slide rules.

 

I still have my two slide rules. They're a lot quicker than 'Napier's bones' and they don't need batteries. Some slide rules had a straight edge with measurement markings.

[ecuk268]

I also still have my slide rule which I got from the Green Shield Stamp shop in East St.

[Badger]

I still have my two slide rules. They're a lot quicker than 'Napier's bones' and they don't need batteries. Some slide rules had a straight edge with measurement markings.

 

We were introduced to slide rules in the early 1970's but I could not master them, nor could many others. Calculators were just creeping in though , and our Maths Dept realised that the slide rule did not have long to go.

 

My father however was a wizard with the slide rule and could easily beat me armed with either a calculator or a log book to get to the (correct) answer.

 

Logarithms , and the log book, have also been confined to history it seems. I asked young badger about this in his GCSE year and it was obvious that my Maths syllabus for 'O' level (in old money) had been drawn up at the time of the Ark. 'Sin' & 'Tan' ? What became of them ?