Probably everyone who does crossword puzzles on a regular basis knows that a four-letter word for a "needle case" is "etui.' I had never seen one before encountering these two photos in a post about ladies' toiletries in Marinni's Live Journal column.
Oh that is wonderful! I too have been running into this word for years but never looked up the actual thing. This is a treat.
ReplyDeleteWe use 'etui' in Swedish to denote any small-ish case for things like glasses or stationery, but I neveer realized it had French origins. Cool.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. It is a new word for me since I cannot spell to save my life and thus don't do many crossword puzzles.
ReplyDeleteAny ideas about the translucent substance that makes up the case? Alabaster? Glass?
I was wondering about that myself. I would guess perhaps strips cut from some type of animal horn?
DeleteGosh - is that an earwax spoon? In the early 19th century earwax was so valuable that only tiny spoons were used for it, and then only by the very well off. Poor people had to make to with Marmite.
ReplyDeleteThe stone looks like onyx.
Here's your earwax scoop (combined with a toothpick, no less) -
Deletehttp://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/2008/05/combination-toothpick-and-earway-scoop.html
Yes, it looks as though it may be some kind of chalcedony, but I doubt onyx. Maybe a sardonyx, or some kind of agate.
Deleteyes, agate or chalcedony
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