# Do pens have caps or lids? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 21, 2013, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pens-have-caps-or-lids/671821 "2013-10-21T14:53:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pens-have-caps-or-lids/671821/1 "2013-10-21T14:53:51Z")
When I was in 6th grade, I called the top of a pen a ‘‘lid.’’ My teacher (who hated me anyways) corrected me and told me it was called a ‘‘cap.’’ I said it could also be called a lid, but the teacher seemed to insist it was only called a cap. Most of the class seemed to agree with the teacher. So, Dopers, what do you call the thing that goes over a pen when not in use? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pens-have-caps-or-lids/671821/2 "2013-10-21T15:04:34Z")
I’ve never heard the term ‘lid’ used to refer to any part of a pen. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pens-have-caps-or-lids/671821/3 "2013-10-21T15:04:39Z")
Cap. Pots and jars have lids. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pens-have-caps-or-lids/671821/4 "2013-10-21T15:06:36Z")
Cap. ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pens-have-caps-or-lids/671821/5 "2013-10-21T15:13:53Z")
Cap. Lids are for pots and pans, jars, and the like. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pens-have-caps-or-lids/671821/6 "2013-10-21T15:32:58Z")
A lid is wide and shallow (unless it’s in a baggie). A cap is deeper and/or narrow. Pens have caps. Now take that lid off ‘fore I bust a cap in yo’ ass. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pens-have-caps-or-lids/671821/7 "2013-10-21T15:36:27Z")
I guess my family and I are alone in calling the top of a pen the ‘‘lid.’’ Though I do call it a cap sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pens-have-caps-or-lids/671821/8 "2013-10-21T15:44:14Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > I guess my family and I are alone in calling the top of a pen the ‘‘lid.’’ Though I do call it a cap sometimes. Maybe it’s a Quebecois thing. Is there a french word that’s a homophone for ‘lid’? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pens-have-caps-or-lids/671821/9 "2013-10-21T15:44:29Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > I guess my family and I are alone in calling the top of a pen the ‘‘lid.’’ Though I do call it a cap sometimes. Lid. It’s a Montreal thing. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pens-have-caps-or-lids/671821/10 "2013-10-21T15:45:00Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > I guess my family and I are alone in calling the top of a pen the ‘‘lid.’’ Though I do call it a cap sometimes. You have Bic on your side! [http://www.cgets.com/BIC-Pen-Lid-Pen-Holder.html?utm\_source=google-shopping&utm\_medium=organic&gclid=CO3U27WiqLoCFc6j4Aod93wAIA](http://www.cgets.com/BIC-Pen-Lid-Pen-Holder.html?utm_source=google-shopping&utm_medium=organic&gclid=CO3U27WiqLoCFc6j4Aod93wAIA) I’ve heard lid, but I call it a cap. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pens-have-caps-or-lids/671821/11 "2013-10-21T15:46:57Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > I guess my family and I are alone in calling the top of a pen the ‘‘lid.’’ Though I do call it a cap sometimes. Not so, get thee to the airport to meet like minds, for we Brits call them lids. ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pens-have-caps-or-lids/671821/12 "2013-10-21T15:53:37Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Not so, get thee to the airport to meet like minds, for we Brits call them lids. Of course, you also call pens biros, so there just is no accounting for the Brits. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pens-have-caps-or-lids/671821/13 "2013-10-21T16:00:32Z")
Pots have lids? No, pot comes in lids. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pens-have-caps-or-lids/671821/14 "2013-10-21T16:03:49Z")
I never thought about it but I think I use cap, but I might sometimes use lid. Anyway, I would know what you meant if you used either of them and I wouldn’t think either word was strange in that context. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pens-have-caps-or-lids/671821/15 "2013-10-21T16:05:01Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Pots have lids? No, pot comes in lids. But are they still $15? Damn I’m old ☹ ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pens-have-caps-or-lids/671821/16 "2013-10-21T16:05:52Z")
> [@Cyros](#): > > Of course, you also call pens biros, so there just is no accounting for the Brits. 😃 All biros are pens, but not all pens are biros. What do _you_ call biros? Hmm? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pens-have-caps-or-lids/671821/17 "2013-10-21T16:07:01Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > When I was in 6th grade, I called the top of a pen a ‘‘lid.’’ > [@EmilyG](#): > > I guess my family and I are alone in calling the top of a pen the ‘‘lid.’’ Wait a minute—what to you mean by the “top” of a pen? The cap goes over the **tip** of the pen—the part you write with—which is at the **bottom** while the pen is in use. That’s probably why I don’t use the word “lid” with pens: because a lid is something that goes on the top of something, and pens don’t have an unambiguous top. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pens-have-caps-or-lids/671821/18 "2013-10-21T16:16:31Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > All biros are pens, but not all pens are biros. > > What do _you_ call biros? Hmm? We generally just call them “pens”, or if we’re feeling particularly descriptive, “ballpoint pens”. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pens-have-caps-or-lids/671821/19 "2013-10-21T16:18:21Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Wait a minute—what to you mean by the “top” of a pen? The cap goes over the **tip** of the pen—the part you write with—which is at the **bottom** while the pen is in use. > > That’s probably why I don’t use the word “lid” with pens: because a lid is something that goes on the top of something, and pens don’t have an unambiguous top. But but… caps go on top too? To cap it all off and all that. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pens-have-caps-or-lids/671821/20 "2013-10-21T16:19:40Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > All biros are pens, but not all pens are biros. > > What do _you_ call biros? Hmm? “Biro” is a brand name, like in US, we would use “Davenport” to mean just any sofa (not so much these days). Or “Kleenex”, there is no substitute for that. But generally, we just say “pen”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pens-have-caps-or-lids/671821.md?page=2)