Has anyone else wondered if pinking shears are named because of their unnervingly utilitarian design for cutting off little fingers? The serration. The size. The sturdiness.
As an object they nestle right at home in Rold Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected, or the Triad in Rising Sun (I think that's the film - Wesley Snipes, right?).
Wikipedia cites the etymology as originating from the serrated edge of the carnation mirroring the blades of these kind of shears often used to cut flowers. Or something. I'm calling bullshit. It's because they cut off pinkies. Messily. Beware the shears...
1 comment:
Hmm. Your theory certainly explains why sheep do not have pinky fingers.
Thank you... that's been bugging me for years.
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