Occam's Razor
Occam's razor
The principle that in explaining something no more assumptions should be made than are necessary.
This principle takes its name from to the English philosopher and Franciscan friar William of Occam (c. 1285-1349)...the image is that of the razor cutting away all extraneous assumptions.
Related Idioms and Phrases :
rest on your oars = lay on your oars
cease rowing by leaning on the handles of your oars thereby lifting them horizontally out of the water
relax your efforts
A US variant of this phrase is lay on your oars.
stick your oar in = poke your oar in = put your oar in
give an opinion or advice without being asked – informal
1992 - Daily Telegraph - My only minor fault is sometimes like putting my oar in and my advice can be a little brutal.
feel your oats
feel lively and buoyant – US informal
Oats are used as feed for horses, making them friskier and more energetic.
get your oats
have sexual intercourse – informal
1965 - William Dick - A Bunch of Rat bags - I was kissing her excitedly and passionately….Cookie, you're going to get your oats tonight for sure, I thought to myself.
off your oats
lacking an appetite – informal
sow your wild oats
go through a period of wild or promiscuous behaviour while young.
Wild oats are weeds found in cornfields which resemble cultivated oats…spending time sowing them would be a foolish or useless activity. The expression has been current since the late 16th century… from the mid 16th to the early 17th century, wild oat was also used as a term for a dissolute young man.
no object
not influencing or restricting choices or decisions
1998 - Independent - I'm a very impulsive buyer, if I see something I buy it, money no object.
odd one out = odd man out
someone or something that is different to the others
someone who is not able to fit easily or comfortably into a group or society
ask no odds
ask no favours – US
by all odds
certainly - North American
it makes no odds
it does not matter - informal chiefly British
This phrase and what's the odds below come from an earlier use of odds to mean difference in advantage or effect.
lay odds = give odds
offer a bet with odds favourable to the other person betting
be very sure about something.
The opposite of lay odds in sense is take odds which means offer a bet with odds unfavourable to the other person betting.
Occam's Razor :
Idioms Index – Previous Page
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