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Reader question: Please explain this paragraph, particularly “her rule of thumb”: Clinton’s diet isn’t as strict as her mostly-vegan husband’s; her regimen has no labels and is made of common sense. Clinton’s aides said her rule of thumb is “If it looks bad for you, it probably is,” the Associated Press reported. My comments: Hillary Clinton, that is, the Democratic presidential candidate, wife of former US President Bill Clinton. Now, to paraphrase: Regarding food, Hillary isn’t as picky as her husband. She doesn’t have a lot of do’s and don’ts. She uses her common sense. Her aids said that her rule of thumb is “If it looks bad for you, it probably is.” In other words, she has a simple rule, a rule from experience – if the food looks like good food, she eats it. If the food looks bad, she turns away. Rule of thumb is a rule one abides by from habit, experience, common sense rather than from the result of, say, science-based analysis and research. Literally, you see, rule of thumb means rule of the thumb, or let the thumb (one’s short thick finger, known as the big finger in Chinese) rule, take control. Now Hillary doesn’t actually dip her thumb into her food and suck her thumb to see if it’s any good – she uses her eyes instead, but if you understand “rule of the thumb” this way, you are not far off, as a matter of fact. | 
