pipe cleanern.
/ˈpʌɪp ˌkliːnə/, U.S. /ˈpaɪp ˌklinər/ Any object used for cleaning the inside of a tobacco pipe; spec. a piece of wire covered with tufted material. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > tobacco > smoking > articles or materials used in smoking > [noun] > pipe > pipe-cleaner
pipe cleaner1861
1861 Times 30 Dec. 4/1 John Mortimer.., for part of the time china and glass dealer, but latterly out of business, occasionally selling pipe cleaners.
1870 G. M. Hopkins Note-bks. & Papers (1937) 132 The heads of flowering grass..often used as pipe-cleaners.
1928 E. Waugh Decline & Fall i. ii. 18 A boxing-glove, a bowler hat, yesterday's Daily News and a packet of pipe-cleaners.
1959 I. Opie & P. Opie Lore & Lang. Schoolchildren ix. 169 The names [for thin people]..are merely descriptive, as: bag o' bones,..pipe cleaner, rake, [etc.].
1994 Today's Parent Oct. 88/2 For the pumpkin stem, diagonally roll up three layers of green or beige felt with a few short pipe cleaners inside.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1861