Make Your Point > Archived Issues > MURPHY'S LAW
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MURPHY'S LAW:
Say it "MUR feeze LAW."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
In the medical field, you may have heard this axiom: "When you hear hoofbeats in the night, look for horses--not zebras." In other words, the simplest diagnosis is probably the most accurate.

"Were you aware that the only documented cases of Kuru were members of a cannibalistic tribe in eastern Papua New Guinea?...If you hear hoof-beats, you just go ahead and think horsies--not zebras."
More generally stated, explanations are better (or more likely to be true) when they're as simple as possible. That's O____'s r____. Could you recall that term?
And how about this one? When you're given the choice between one thing or nothing at all, that's H_____'s ch_____.
And now, for another wonderfully useful Somebody's Something: Murphy's Law.
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:

"Murphy's Law" is the idea that if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong.
It's not always true, of course, but because it's phrased as if it were a scientific truth, it's hilarious and fun to use.
Where did the phrase come from? People and sources disagree about that. One explanation, recognized as "apparent" by the Oxford English Dictionary, is that a WWII pilot in the US Air Force named Captain Edward A. Murphy came up with the phrase after studying deceleration.
But the idea is an old one, maybe as old as human history.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Proper noun: "We're eternally ruled by Murphy's Law."
Other forms:
If you prefer, use a lowercase L: "Murphy's law."
how to use it:
Pick this phrase when you want to be funny and informal.
Talk about people or situations obeying or following Murphy's Law. Or, being ruled or governed by Murphy's Law, or being subjected to or victimized by Murphy's Law. "Every printer I've owned has faithfully adhered to Murphy's Law."
Or, say that Murphy's Law dictates or ensures that something will happen, that Murphy's Law promises some outcome, that Murphy's Law prevents something from happening, etc.
You can even make up your own more specific versions of Murphy's Law. Here's the BBC: "Murphy's law of audio..says that connecting leads and plugs will always develop a fault five minutes after the last useful shop has closed for the weekend." And here's Scientific American: "Murphy's first law of biology...states: 'Under any given set of environmental conditions an experimental animal behaves as it damn well pleases.'"
examples:
"Breaking Murphy's Law: How Optimists Get What They Want from Life-- and Pessimists Can Too."
— Title of a book by Suzanne C. Segerstrom, 2006
"A programmer practicing defensive programming would not allow the bug, because if the application contains a known bug, Murphy's Law dictates that the bug will occur in use."
— "Defensive programming," World Heritage Encylopedia
has this page helped you understand "Murphy's Law"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "Murphy's Law" without saying "stuff always goes wrong" or "it never goes smooth."

try it out:
In a blog post, Seth Godin wrote, "Things rarely turn out precisely the way we hoped...If we find the lesson and learn from it, it might be even more valuable than if we'd simply gotten lucky."
In other words, when Murphy's Law holds true for us, even as we're cursing and scrambling to fix what went wrong, we might learn something or realize how to make a valuable change.
Talk about a time you did this. How did Murphy's Law hold true for you--and how did you learn something as a result?
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
Our game this month is Everyday Etymologies!
If you're in the habit of looking up the etymologies of everyday words (wait, you aren't?), then you find, occasionally, certain ones that strike you as particularly apt, cute, strange, or poetic. I'd like to share some of those finds with you this month. In each issue, I'll give you the etymology of an everyday word, and you supply the word. We'll start easy and move into some tougher ones as the month goes on, but every answer will be an everyday kind of word, one you've been familiar with since, say, adolescence at least. To see the answer, scroll to the bottom of the issue.
Try this one today: This one-syllable noun from Greek mythology may literally mean "the strangler."
review this word:
1. A near opposite of a belief in MURPHY'S LAW is
A. MELIORISM (a belief that the world is getting better and better).
B. PANGLOSSIANISM (a belief that things will always happen in the best way).
C. TELEOLOGISM (a belief that things happen the way they do because of plans, not causes).
2. John Glenn wrote, "'Murphy' was a fictitious character who appeared in a series of educational cartoons put out by the U.S. Navy... Murphy was a _____ mechanic who was prone to _____."
A. careless, all-thumbs .. making such mistakes as installing a propeller backwards
B. lazy, hands-in-his-pockets .. lying under a plane, pretending to tune it while having a nap
C. haughty, know-it-all .. making enemies by pointing out everyone's mistakes, no matter how minor
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
In the medical field, you may have heard this axiom: "When you hear hoofbeats in the night, look for horses--not zebras." In other words, the simplest diagnosis is probably the most accurate.
Part of speech:
Pick this phrase when you want to be funny and informal.
"Breaking Murphy's Law: How Optimists Get What They Want from Life-- and Pessimists Can Too."
Explain the meaning of "Murphy's Law" without saying "stuff always goes wrong" or "it never goes smooth."
In a blog post, Seth Godin wrote, "Things rarely turn out precisely the way we hoped...If we find the lesson and learn from it, it might be even more valuable than if we'd simply gotten lucky."
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
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