# A plastic glass, an online paper, and other material contradictions **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 14, 2022, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836 "2022-04-14T19:52:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2022, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/141 "2022-04-21T22:41:22Z")
Bristle _hair_. Bristle _fiber_. You SHOULD beg my pardon after that nonsense! ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2022, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/142 "2022-04-21T22:41:26Z")
corn silks? > **[Corn silk can actually be put to good use as a tea](https://www.capegazette.com/article/corn-silk-can-actually-be-put-good-use-tea/206887)** > > Waste not, want not. Most gardeners mimic what they see in supermarkets and eat only parts of vegetables, tossing out plant parts such as the leaves of sweet potato and squash vines, young cucumber and bean leaves, and even celery and parsley... ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2022, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/143 "2022-04-21T22:44:52Z")
That doesn’t follow the rules. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2022, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/144 "2022-04-22T00:19:57Z")
I’m holding a bristle in my hand right now. Would you take this bristle from me please? No modifier is needed. You can hold a bristle in your hand. ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2022, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/145 "2022-04-22T00:34:05Z")
Athletes commonly refer to spending time reviewing “game film” in the “film room” in preparation for the upcoming big game. We’re talking people in their 20s and 30s who have probably never even seen an actual “film”. In the last 40+ years we’ve moved from film to reel to reel video tape, to Betamax, to VHS tapes, to DVD’s and to digital recordings. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2022, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/146 "2022-04-22T00:55:29Z")
The material isn’t bristle. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2022, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/147 "2022-04-22T03:25:06Z")
bris·tle /ˈbrisəl/ _noun_ 1. a short stiff hair, typically one of those on an animal’s skin, a man’s face, or a plant. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2022, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/148 "2022-04-22T10:12:25Z")
Yes. That is a countable noun, not a material. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2022, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/149 "2022-04-22T11:29:55Z")
A text string, he said in the message thread. That reminds me, I must get a new skin for my avatar ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2022, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/150 "2022-04-22T11:34:55Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I was sure heavy paper like that, called cardstock here, must have been simply called ‘card’ sometimes. We call that ‘card’, or if it is rough and fibrous, ‘cardboard’. Cereal boxes are made of cardboard. Modellers and crafters use fine card, or sometimes use ‘plasticard’, which is card made from plastic. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2022, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/151 "2022-04-22T11:56:59Z")
Posted on a board Please nitpick me! ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2022, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/152 "2022-04-22T12:04:46Z")
Okay, there’s still a lot of confusion here. Ask these questions: 1. Am I naming _an object_? As in, can I put the indefinite article “a/an” in front of the object’s name, and it makes sense? 2. Is the object named after a material? As in, is there a material that’s an uncountable noun? 3. Do the object and the material have _exactly_ the same name? “A glass” and “glass” have exactly the same name. “A quilt” and “quilting material” do not. 4. Is, or was, the object traditionally made from the material? 5. Is the object sometimes made from another material? 6. When the object is made from another material, does it retain the name? If you can answer “yes” to all six question, you got it. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2022, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/153 "2022-04-22T12:05:28Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > A text string, he said in the message thread. > That reminds me, I must get a new skin for my avatar See my previous post, look at question 4. > [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > Posted on a board same, plus question 2 ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2022, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/154 "2022-04-22T12:07:04Z")
Yippee! The Master Speaks! ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2022, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/155 "2022-04-22T12:27:02Z")
To paraphrase Seinfeld, master of my own dumb game. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2022, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/156 "2022-04-22T12:39:30Z")
Bristle is a material. That’s why there are bristle brushes, referring to either real bristles which are still made, or artificial bristles. An individual bristle is made from bristle or a substitute but still called a bristle, and it is made out of bristle. Your distinction is not a distinction. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2022, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/157 "2022-04-22T13:15:00Z")
You’re wrong that “bristle” is a material in the same way that “glass” is a material. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2022, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/158 "2022-04-22T16:12:09Z")
? ISTM that “bristle” refers both to individual bristles (the primary meaning of the word) and the substance that they’re composed of. Just as “bone” refers both to individual bones (primary meaning) and the substance that they’re composed of. (“Hair” likewise can mean an individual hair or a material that objects can be manufactured from, as in “hair shirt” or “hair jewelry”.) If you were willing to accept the expression “a steel corset bone” as meeting your criteria, I don’t see why you would reject “a nylon bristle”. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2022, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/159 "2022-04-22T16:14:37Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > If you were willing to accept the expression “a steel corset bone” as meeting your criteria, I don’t see why you would reject “a nylon bristle”. Because of the dictionary: > [@definition of bone](#): > > 1. > 1. any of the pieces of hard whitish tissue making up the skeleton in humans and other vertebrates. > > “his injuries included many broken bones” > > 1. > 1. **the calcified material of which bones consist.** > > “an earring of bone” > [@definition of bristle](#): > > a short stiff hair, typically one of those on an animal’s skin, a man’s face, or a plant. Show me a definition of “bristle” which includes the word “material,” and I’ll rethink. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2022, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/160 "2022-04-22T16:23:07Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Show me a definition of “bristle” which includes the word “material,” and I’ll rethink. Those goalposts are kind of wobbly, aren’t they? I mean, you provisionally accepted the concept of “a plastic straw” as meeting the criteria, although “straw” refers to specific pieces of a particular substance, rather than the undifferentiated material of that substance, just as much as “bristle” does. I don’t really see why a substance needs to be completely amorphous rather than composed of distinct pieces in order to qualify as “a material” anyway. But even if we accept that it does, I don’t think you’re applying that criterion totally consistently. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836.md?page=9)