Friday, September 12, 2008

Hi and Lois' dictionary


[Hi and Lois, September 12, 2008.]

Thumb-notches at the top! Not drawn from life.

[Yes, they're thumb-notches. The alphabetical tabs are thumb-index tabs or index tabs. Thumb-indexing or thumb-notching goes back to at least the late 19th century. I wrote to Merriam-Webster years ago to ask what those thingamajigs are called, never guessing that the reply would be relevant to Hi and Lois.]

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comments: 2

j said...

I don't know why it is such a happy thought, but I love the you wrote to Merriam-Webster to ask what they were called. :)

Michael Leddy said...

I'm sure they liked getting that letter. The funny part is that the Explanatory Chart at the front of the Third New International seems to explain every part of a dictionary page but the thumb-notches.