| rule of thumb | |
| —n | |
| a. a rough and practical approach, based on experience, rather than a scientific or precise one based on theory | |
| b. (as modifier): a rule-of-thumb decision | |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
A practical principle that comes from the wisdom of experience and is usually but not always valid: “When playing baseball, a good rule of thumb is to put your best hitter fourth in the batting order.”