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Pen Cap, Lid or Top?
Posted: 24 Apr 2017, 15:50
by Rob Houghton
Split from 'What Are You Doing Now?'
I want to ask you all a bit of a silly question, for research purposes, as I'm not sure what to call - this -
is it a 'cap' a 'lid' or a 'top'? Or maybe you call it something else?
I particularly would like to know if anyone remembers what Enid called it, if she ever mentioned one in a book?
Help appreciated!
Re: What Are You Doing Now?
Posted: 24 Apr 2017, 16:01
by Julie2owlsdene
I would use the word - pen top.
Re: What Are You Doing Now?
Posted: 24 Apr 2017, 16:04
by Daisy
I think cap or top but not lid, but I'm not sure.
Re: What Are You Doing Now?
Posted: 24 Apr 2017, 16:12
by KEVP
I would call it a cap.
"Could you hand me the cap to this pen?"
However, the dialect of English I speak is a strange mixture of USA and Brit.
Re: What Are You Doing Now?
Posted: 24 Apr 2017, 17:57
by Eddie Muir
I would also call it a pen top.
Re: What Are You Doing Now?
Posted: 24 Apr 2017, 18:09
by Jack400
I too would call it a pen top, though cap would be pretty clear too.
Re: What Are You Doing Now?
Posted: 24 Apr 2017, 19:04
by John Pickup
Pen top for me. I can't recall Enid describing one though.
Re: What Are You Doing Now?
Posted: 24 Apr 2017, 19:06
by Machupicchu14
It's curious, but I can't recall ever using that word!!
But I would say 'pen top'.
Re: What Are You Doing Now?
Posted: 24 Apr 2017, 19:14
by Anita Bensoussane
I usually say "lid" or sometimes "top". I just asked my son and he said the same.
I'm afraid I don't know what Enid called it, Rob (if she referred to it in her writing). I just checked The Mystery of the Secret Room and a short story called 'At the Bus Stop' because both feature pens. Unfortunately the lid/top/cap wasn't mentioned - or if it was I missed it. Pens appear quite regularly in the school stories, especially First Term at Malory Towers with the violet ink storyline, but again I don't know whether they contain the information you're looking for and I can't check as my copies aren't easy to access.
Re: What Are You Doing Now?
Posted: 24 Apr 2017, 19:18
by joanne_chan
I recall using the word cap for it when I first had a fountain pen would of been aged eight or nine, filled by hand for a bottle of ink in the recess of ones desk.
Re: What Are You Doing Now?
Posted: 24 Apr 2017, 21:08
by Rob Houghton
Thanks for all your answers! I would normally say 'pen top' but thought maybe that was more casual, so perhaps 'cap' is more the right term.
I somehow thought I'd heard Enid call it a 'lid' and wondered if this was maybe an older term for it, but can't think where I read it (if I ever did!)
Re: What Are You Doing Now?
Posted: 24 Apr 2017, 21:57
by Katharine
I'm not sure what I'd call it, and the more I consider it, the more unsure I am!
I've a feeling that one of the school stories might mention what top/cap/lid, but wouldn't know which book, so not a lot of help really!
Re: What Are You Doing Now?
Posted: 25 Apr 2017, 00:00
by Rob Houghton
Katharine wrote:I'm not sure what I'd call it, and the more I consider it, the more unsure I am!
This is how I'm feeling too!
Re: What Are You Doing Now?
Posted: 25 Apr 2017, 09:25
by Daisy
I've just asked my husband and he immediately said "cap". He went on to say a cap encloses something to a degree, but a "top" might just sit on top of something.
Re: What Are You Doing Now?
Posted: 25 Apr 2017, 10:20
by Rob Houghton
Thanks Daisy. I'm coming round to 'cap' I think!