rhyme or reason
English
Alternative forms
- rhyme nor reason
Etymology
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] (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?)
Pronunciation
Audio (AU) (file)
Noun
rhyme or reason (uncountable)
- (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
- 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
logic or common sense
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References
- Rhyme and reason
Further reading
- Gary Martin (1997–), “Rhyme or reason”, in The Phrase Finder.