rhyme or reason
Logic; common sense.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“His strange plan has no rhyme or reason.”
“The instructions for this new machine are so confusing that they seem to have no rhyme or reason.”
“The sudden changes to the company policy lacked any rhyme or reason, leaving the employees frustrated and unable to understand the new direction.”
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.
- 01
13th reason why
Alternative form of thirteenth reason why.
- 02
reason with
To convince (someone) to do (or not do) something using rational arguments; to get (someone) to view something rationally.
- 03
rhyme off
To list or recite quickly.
- 04
stand to reason
To seem logical, rational, or reasonable; to make sense.
- 05
thirteenth reason why
Synonym of thirteenth reason.
Last updated August 10, 2026