the.com/tinsel
Christmas glitter that was literally made of lead until it started poisoning children.
means Thin strips of glittering material hung on Christmas trees and decorations to mimic ice, snow, or sparkle.
from From Old French 'estincele,' meaning 'spark' or 'glitter' (which also gives us 'stencil' and is related to the modern French 'étincelle'), tracing back to Latin 'scintilla,' a spark — the same root that lights up 'scintillate.' The word originally described fine threads of actual metal woven into fabric to catch the light; only later did it drape itself over evergreens. Fittingly for a word born from 'spark,' it now also describes anything showy but shallow — the 'tinsel' of cheap glamour.
- original metal
- First versions used real silver, then toxic lead foil
- banned 1972
- FDA quietly phased out lead tinsel as hazard
- name origin
- From French estincelle, meaning a spark
- early use
- Invented in 1610 Germany to mimic ice
- now plastic
- Modern strands are mostly recycling-resistant PVC
tinsel from nuremberg — german town that produced 90% of world's tinsel in the 1800s using silver-coated copper strips
operation tinsel — british wwii counterintelligence program using double agents, 1940-1945