What do you call it?

Eleven Benevolent Elephants

The thing you sharpen a pencil with.

Rodney Bathgate

Eraser?

nthclare

Something else?

Rodney Bathgate wrote: »

Eraser?

Arazor

Gregor Samsa

Topper

Parer. Or if I’m feeling posh, a sharpener.

Married a culchie, though, and she and the kids call it a topper. I just can’t.

Eleven Benevolent Elephants

Topper

Rodney Bathgate wrote: »

Eraser?

You mean rubber.

Smee_Again

A parer.

Vowel Movement

pointer

Rodney Bathgate

Eleven Benevolent Elephants wrote: »

You mean rubber.

No, I mean penknife.

893bet

Sharpener

Topper

TheMilkyPirate

Sharpener

A topper

Mehaffey1

Something else?

Sharpener here from 'The North'

Rodney Bathgate

The OP has no lead in his pencil. (Yes, I know pencils have graphite, not lead.)

Queasy Tadpole

Something else?

A pencil sharpener.

Eleven Benevolent Elephants

Topper

Mehaffey1 wrote: »

Sharpener here from 'The North'

That's a real Monaghan name!

PsychoPete

Sharpener

The answer is topper and every other word for it is wrong

Mam of 4

A pencil parer .
A topper sounds like something that should sit on top of the pencil !

Snails pace

Sharpener

Topper

Beanntraigheach

Topper

Me teeth

Rodney Bathgate

Mam of 4 wrote: »

A topper sounds like something that should sit on top of the pencil !

Like an eraser? One of the wedge shaped one...

Mam of 4

Rodney Bathgate wrote: »

Like an eraser? One of the wedge shaped one...

Ha ha , like a top hat !

ladyella

Topper

Ive never even heard of a topper, sounds like a toy or an old comic book. Its a parer

o1s1n

Topper

ladyella wrote: »

Ive never even heard of a topper, sounds like a toy or an old comic book. Its a parer

Topper is news to me too, never heard that one ever.

What county do the pencil toppers hail from?

gozunda

A 'pen' knife ....

khalessi

Call it both a parer and a sharpener
not option to vote both

The Mighty Quinn

Sharpener

A topper.

Wexford!

I remember kelloggs boxes having The Mask Pencil Toppers and being confused when they were things to stick on top of your pencil. Made them too top heavy and hard to use

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/proxy/MpBXofHo7WYF2zid7kUD-4fPThClJJGC6fqTm5arjk8IJGdTTFJ0ohXyqI7Ty15wql3x44nHTW8e1tBbz-B9X21jwt-nQg1-Wx_OxyDi00f54JqydKfAidMBng

Signore Fancy Pants

I call it a pencil pearer because it sharpens the pencil.

JasonStatham

Eleven Benevolent Elephants wrote: »

The thing you sharpen a pencil with.

A hatchet?

Degag

A pointer.Similar to most kids in the west i imagine. Anyone who called it a parer was surely a posh fecker?

Mehaffey1

Something else?

Eleven Benevolent Elephants wrote: »

That's a real Monaghan name!

From Armagh but living in Monaghan so you can't have been much closer!

McGinniesta

Knife.

I was a whittler.

Rothko

Sharpener

Gregor Samsa wrote: »

Parer. Or if I’m feeling posh, a sharpener.

Married a culchie, though, and she and the kids call it a topper. I just can’t.

Parer sounds posher to me than sharpener.

retalivity

It was always a Pointer in the NW

Queasy Tadpole

Something else?

Jesus I wanna change my vote now. It's been decades since I was in school.

It was a parer. Holy jaysus!

Hand in Your Pants

Nut. Load. Wad. Buckshot.

Leg End Reject

Topper

A parer, I've never heard it called a topper.

Topper reminds me of the cartoon characters etc that we used to put on top of pencils in school. You'd think you were great with that, your fancy paper and scented rubber.

Water John

Sharpener

Faber Castell factory was in Fermoy Co. Cork and it's a Topper down here.
So that's official Ha.

JohnnyFlash

It's a pencil pointer.

PsychoPete

Sharpener

Water John wrote: »

Faber Castell factory was in Fermoy Co. Cork and it's a Topper down here.
So that's official Ha.

Everyone in school called it a Topper. Probably a culchie thing, knowing culchies it might have something to do with a topper mower or some other form of agriculture equipment

Sharpener

A topper.

AllForIt

If you asked me what a topper is I'd say someone who likes to be on top.

Sharpener

A topper obviously, why would I use something other than the correct name for an item?

Esel

Rodney Bathgate wrote: »

Eraser?

I asked an American secretary for some stationary supplies, including pencils and a rubber.

The filthy look I got! :eek:

BuboBubo

Sharpener

Topper.

I used a Swiss Army knife to sharpen my pencils though, I could get the points just perfect for my drawings.

Cherry Blossom

Something else?

I’ve never heard either of the terms topper or parer before. Most people in my school called it a sharpener with just one or two calling it a pointer.

AllForIt

What's the point of this thread anyway? Boom Boom.

I think a parer is the best one because that's what you do it it - pear it like paring an apple. You take off the outside to reveal the inside. You don't really 'sharpen' it, that's what you do with a knife, though that's debatable. A pointer would be the second best and a topper is just ridiculous.


This reminds me, when I was 6 I had a pencil sword fight at school with a class mate. Unfortunately I stabbed him in the finger and the lead broke off and stayed embedded in his finger. To make things worse he was the next door neighbour of the head teacher so you can imagine I wasn't very popular that day. I wouldn't mind but he started it.

Purple Mountain

Sharpener

Cherry Blossom wrote: »

I’ve never heard either of the terms topper or parer before. Most people in my school called it a sharpener with just one or two calling it a pointer.

I never heard of parer or pointer.
Topper all the way.
In my primary school days, you'd go to the metal bin in the classroom to 'top' your pencil into it.

Gregor Samsa

Topper

Rothko wrote: »

Parer sounds posher to me than sharpener.

I’m from Dublin Northside. It was only ever a parer. Sharpener to me sounds like you’d need to be wearing a monocle to say it. “Pass me the sharpener, William. I am presently about to pen a missive, and my pencil is rather dull.” As opposed to “Giz de parer, ya muppet. Me bleedin pencil’s bolloxed”.

As for topper, I remember the first time my wife said it to me. She was all like “Be the hokey, my penchil is broke. I’ll put the topper to it now, so I will. And then I’ll foot the turf”. I was like “why are you making up a stupid word for a parer? And we have gas central heating, we don’t use turf”. I absolutely refuse to use the word, it’s one of my red lines. She calls the lid of a milk carton or plastic bottle a “cork” too - unacceptable!

She’s lying in bed beside me snoring her head off now. I’ll fücking topper if I can’t get to sleep.

Capt'n Midnight

sharpener/parer, but usually a knife

but sandpaper too, and rotate the pencil every so often so you don't need to do it so often

Church on Tuesday

Something else?

Sharpener.

Rodney Bathgate

Esel wrote: »

I asked an American secretary for some stationary supplies, including pencils and a rubber.

The filthy look I got! :eek:

In future use the term prophylactic, less offensive.

The thing you use to pare back the layers of wood to get to the graphite so you can use the pencil?

Sure, it's a topper or whatever.