Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
according to Hoyle
English answer:
by the book
Aug 8, 2003 11:15
20 yrs ago
English term
not up to hoil
English
Social Sciences
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Heard this in spoken conversation, so spelling may be off. Apparently means something is not up to accepted standards. Can anybody tell me if this is so and where this idiom comes from?
Change log
Dec 31, 2008 00:39: Michael Powers (PhD) changed "Level" from "Non-PRO" to "PRO"
Dec 31, 2008 00:40: Michael Powers (PhD) changed "Field" from "Other" to "Social Sciences" , "Field (specific)" from "(none)" to "Idioms / Maxims / Sayings"
Responses
+11
1 min
Michael Powers (PhD)
United States
United States
Native in English
&
English
United States
US Court Cert. 1980 Ph.D. 1981
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, Portuguese to English, English to Spanish, and 2 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
12
Selected
not according to Hoyle
not according to the rules
Mike :)
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Note added at 2 mins (2003-08-08 11:17:45 GMT)
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The definition of this in the Random House Dictionary may help you understand it.
Hoyle (hoil), n.
1. Edmond, 1672–1769, English authority and writer on card games.
2. Sir Fred, born 1915, British astronomer, mathematician, and educator.
3. according to Hoyle, according to the rules or to the authority; correctly.
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Note added at 4 mins (2003-08-08 11:19:29 GMT)
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The etymology of this expression from the American Heritage Dictionary:
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.
Hoyle
PRONUNCIATION: hoil
NOUN: A reference book of rules for card games and other indoor games.
IDIOM: according to Hoyle In accord with the prescribed rules or regulations.
ETYMOLOGY: After Edmond Hoyle (1672?–1769), British writer on games.
Mike :)
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Note added at 2 mins (2003-08-08 11:17:45 GMT)
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The definition of this in the Random House Dictionary may help you understand it.
Hoyle (hoil), n.
1. Edmond, 1672–1769, English authority and writer on card games.
2. Sir Fred, born 1915, British astronomer, mathematician, and educator.
3. according to Hoyle, according to the rules or to the authority; correctly.
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Note added at 4 mins (2003-08-08 11:19:29 GMT)
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The etymology of this expression from the American Heritage Dictionary:
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.
Hoyle
PRONUNCIATION: hoil
NOUN: A reference book of rules for card games and other indoor games.
IDIOM: according to Hoyle In accord with the prescribed rules or regulations.
ETYMOLOGY: After Edmond Hoyle (1672?–1769), British writer on games.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "This metaphor was definitely mixed by the speaker. Thanks for the thorough explanation and background info. My preferred, short and simple equivalent is "by the book".
Thanks to all."
+1
3 mins
not up to snuff, not up to par, not up to scratch, not up to the mark
This expressions are very common. The one you mention does not ring a bell. Here is what the American Heritage Dictionary says:
Nearly all the versions of this idiom come from sports, par from golf, scratch and mark from boxing (after being knocked down a fighter had eight seconds to make his way to a mark scratched in the center of the ring), and speed from racing. However, the allusion in the variant with snuff, which dates from the early 1800s, has been lost.
Nearly all the versions of this idiom come from sports, par from golf, scratch and mark from boxing (after being knocked down a fighter had eight seconds to make his way to a mark scratched in the center of the ring), and speed from racing. However, the allusion in the variant with snuff, which dates from the early 1800s, has been lost.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
jerrie
: not up to (full) speed.. I wondered if this was boil, rather than hoil?!
7 mins
|
| neutral |
David Moore (X)
: Clearly what you heard was "not up to Hoyle", which intends to express the above ideas, but to me it looks as if the speaker has mixed his metaphors.
15 mins
|
11 hrs
not in full compliance with universally accepted rules and customs
This is the figurative meaning of the expression 'according to Hoyle,' whose etymology is given above. He was the first writer (eighteenth century) to standardize the rules for whist.
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