regulation vs yardstick

regulation

noun
  • The act of regulating or the condition of being regulated. 

  • A numbered provision within such kind of law. 

  • A type of law made by the executive branch of government, usually by virtue of a statute made by the legislative branch giving the executive the authority to do so. 

  • Mechanism controlling DNA transcription. 

  • A law or administrative rule, issued by an organization, used to guide or prescribe the conduct of members of that organization. 

  • A form of legislative act which is self-effecting, and requires no further intervention by the Member States to become law. 

  • Physiological process which consists in maintaining homoeostasis. 

adj
  • In conformity with applicable rules and regulations. 

yardstick

noun
  • A standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged. 

  • A measuring rod thirty-six inches (one yard) long. 

How often have the words regulation and yardstick occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )