rhyme or reason
(Redirected from no rhyme or reason)
English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Calque of Middle French n'y avoir ryme ne raison (Eustache Deschamps), attributed to the poet Edmund Spenser in a conversation with Queen Elizabeth I.[1]
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Pronunciation[edit]
Audio (AU) (file)
Noun[edit]
- (idiomatic, chiefly in the negative) Logic; common sense.
- Prices vary considerably from one town to another with no apparent rhyme or reason.
- He would often fly into an unexpected rage without rhyme or reason.
Usage notes[edit]
- Almost always used in a negative form, particularly with no and, adverbially, without. May also occur as rhyme nor reason, e.g. after neither.
Translations[edit]
logic or common sense
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References[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- Gary Martin (1997–) “Rhyme or reason”, in The Phrase Finder.