tinsel2 (tinsel)

and a. [Early mod. E. also tinsell, tinsil, tinsille (also tinsey ); by apheresis from " etincelle, stance, as burnished bra , copper, or tin, made in sheets approaching the thinne of foil, and used in pieces, strips, or threads for any purpose in which a sparkling effect is desired without much cost. Gold and silver tinsel, round or flat, made of Dutch metal, is much employed in the manufacture of artificial flies. There were "also tinsille , tinfoil, gold and silver leaf, and colours of different kinds." Strutt , Sports and Pastimes, p. 31. Many,... to whose pa ive ken Those mighty spheres that gem infinity Were only specks of tinsel fix'd in heaven. Shelley, Queen Mab, v. 2. A fabric or some material for dre overlaid or shot with glittering metallic sparkles or threads. The name has been given to cloth Sheet-iron coated with ly in Great Britain, from which country it is largely exported to the United States, where it is used in a great variety of ways, especially for kitchen utensils, and for cans (called tins in England) for preserving meat, vegetables, and fruit by keeping them in an air-tight condition. The use of the tin is to prevent the iron from rusting, tin being a metal which is not perceptibly corroded by air or weak acids. The manufacture of tin-plate of good quality requires great skill, considerable hand-labor, and a superior quality of iron. For the best quality of tin-plate the iron is refined with the use of charcoal alone; such iron is called charcoal plate. Plate made from puddled iron is generally known as coke - plate. The proce es of preparing the iron and coating the surface with tin vary somewhat in different manufactories, but the e ential features are that the plates shall be properly cleaned by chemical and mechanical means, shall be toughened by rolling between polished Skirts, round underborne with a bluish tinsel . Shak., Much Ado, iii. 4. 22. It will abide no more test than the tinsel We clad our masques in for an hour's wearing. Fletcher and Rowley , Maid in the Mill, ii. 2. 3. Figuratively, glistening or gaudy show; superficial glitter or sparkle; garish pretense. There is a dangerous tinsel in false taste, by which the unwary mind and young imagination are often fascinated. Goldsmith , Taste. II. a . Consisting of, or characteristic of, tinsel; hence, gaudy; showy to exce ; speciously glittering. Tinsel affections make a glorious glistering. Fletcher, Loyal Subject, iii. 3. Light coin, the tinsel clink of compliment. Tennyson, Prince , ii. tinselled , ppr. tinseling , tinselling . [ tinsel2 , n.] IMG:content-0466.png:[blocks in formation]