earthly reason
1
5.8
- noun
:
razón terrenal
- She explained her decision, saying there was no earthly reason for delay.
Examples
-
"There's no earthly reason why we shouldn't be self-sufficient if the hippies in California and Wales are."
Fiction book (1992) -
There is no earthly reason for the R rating of this film.
-
Is there any earthly reason for his sudden change of heart?
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A cause or explanation for something that happened
156
4.0
A reason or explanation that shows an action is acceptable
79
6.0
A set of reasons that explains a decision or action
Antonyms
How Convincing
Surface Forms
Morphology
Although 'reason' retains its basic sense of an explanation, the adjective 'earthly' here functions idiomatically as an intensifier (especially in negative contexts: 'no earthly reason' = 'no possible/plausible reason'), which is not directly derivable from the literal 'of the material world' meaning of 'earthly'. A B1 learner who knows the constituents might suspect a relation to practicality or the world, but would be unlikely to predict the fixed intensifying/idiomatic usage without prior exposure.
Etymology
Earthly reason comes from the old idea that earthly means 'of the earth' or ordinary, not from heaven, and reason means an explanation. So an earthly reason is a 'sensible' human explanation, and asking for one is asking for any simple, believable cause.