rhyme or reason

English

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rhyme or reason

Where it comes from

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.

noun rhyme nor reason

idiomatic, uncountable, in the negative Logic; common sense. Prices vary considerably from one town to another with no apparent rhyme or reason.

Translations

Every language

noun logic or common sense

Español	sin ton ni son, sin ton y sin son, sin pies ni cabeza, no tener / llevar pies ni cabeza, razón alguna
Português	sem pé nem cabeça
Français	n'avoir ni queue ni tête, ne rimer à rien
Deutsch	Sinn und Verstand
Italiano	né capo né coda, senza capo né coda
Русский	ни скла́ду, ни ла́ду ni skládu, ni ládu

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MLA

"rhyme or reason." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/rhyme%20or%20reason. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

APA

rhyme or reason. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/rhyme%20or%20reason

Chicago

"rhyme or reason." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/rhyme%20or%20reason.

BibTeX

@misc{rhyme_or_reason_2026,
  title = {rhyme or reason},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/rhyme%20or%20reason},
  urldate = {2026-11-07}
}