the.com/wooden spoon
the only utensil that doubles as a weapon parents never actually use anymore
means A wooden spoon is a cooking utensil carved from wood for stirring and mixing, but the phrase also names the booby prize given to the last-place finisher in a contest.
from The kitchen sense is plainly literal: spoons whittled from wood are among the oldest cooking tools, gentle on pots and slow to conduct heat. The 'last place' meaning comes from a real custom at Cambridge University, where the student with the lowest passing marks in the mathematics honours exam was traditionally presented with an actual wooden spoon, sometimes a comically huge one. The mocking trophy outlived the ritual, and now any loser's prize — in cricket, rugby, or a school sports day — is the wooden spoon.
- sound proof
- Won't scratch pots or set off taste-killing metallic clangs
- heat hero
- Won't melt or burn your hand like metal
- loser's prize
- Awarded last-place finishers in British competitions
- bacteria myth
- Wood naturally kills germs better than plastic
- ancient kit
- Egyptians carved them over 4,000 years ago
wooden spoon award — given to last-place finisher in sports competitions, famously used in six nations rugby since the 1800s