So, you go to the deli and get a sandwich to stay, eat in, i.e. not to go. They stick a toothpick in each half and at the end of each toothpick there is a little ruffle of cellophane. Is there a word for those little cellophane ruffles? In English, preferably, but if any language has one, I’d be interested.
Annoyingcrapthatdictateswhichsideofthetoothpickyouchewonwhenyourdonewithyoursandwich.
thatstuffontheendofthetoothpickthatsticksoutofthesandwich.
chleibtoffen.
flag
Flag Of Doom*
Phlamph
Are you thinking that it should have a special word? Like an aglet (the thing on the end of your shoelace)?
English has many words for precipitation (rain, snow, hail, sprinkle, mist, sleet) and even a special word for the sound of lightning (do you hear lightning? no, I hear thunder). We have words for abstract concepts. We have words that you are not supposed to use. We have technical jargon, slang, and plenty of words that have fallen into disuse. We have a redundant supply of words, making it so easy to say the same thing so many ways.
So many words and so many kinds of words… but maybe the word you seek does not exist.
Well the “Office Space” fan in me wishes it was the “flair”, but of course it is actually the frill.
That a “special word” is given to so many things is one of the beautiful characteristics of language. For the curious it adds a joyous aspect of constant discovery to language and its use.
Brilliant. Thank you, sir. And for the record I did do a google search and this appears to be the common term used across various manufacturers. Sadly, it’s not a particularly exotic word, but it does appear to be the word.
And for those wishing to dig further there is, The Toothpick: Technology and Culture.
Interestingly enough that a person could be published, at $19.50 per copy, for documenting the historical role of toothpicks- I imagine that’s a niche profession, but in a college curriculum, somewhere, Henry Petroski is likely cited as a foremost expert in this field of study for the young and studied masses of future toothpick engineers.
Just to dovetail your topic with word games for third world relief work:
Free Rice
That is very cool.
Me and my girlfriend (vernacular grammar) can get to level 42, rooting words, tense, and form, but I usually average between levels 36-38 by myself.
And the side of me that values consistency would like to call it floss.
I cruised on up to level 36 then started doing not so well.
I can get to 42, but I can’t seem to sustain it, and keep getting bounced back down to 39/40 range. Wish I paid closer attention to my HS English teachers…it would be paying off now in Free Rice scores.
When I saw the thread titile, I thought that you were asking about the stuff and the end of the toothpick after you successfully used it. I was gonna suggest “food”.
I got up to 40, but I went back and stayed around 36.
Level 42 seems to be the high water mark-- But I’m curious about level 43 and above. Level 36 is pretentious enough, so by level 43, I would have to replace my reading glasses with monocles, yes one for each eye, just to read the vocab aloud.
My high was 43, but by 800 grains of rice I was averaging between 40 and 42 most of the time. (Should’ve taken a screen… no one will believe me.)