Hi there,
I'm an EFL (English as a foreign language) teacher.
Recently I was asked how you call the white sticks you clean your ears with. I assume it's called an earstick??? but I'm not sure.
I can't find it in any of my dictionaries.
You can see a picture of the word I'm looking for .
http://www.tucoo.com/icon/The%20Icons/s/ear%20stick.png
2007-07-18 00:51:08 · 40 answers · asked by kim_dot_kom 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
I assume you mean either a cotton bud (english) or Q tip as my american friends call them
2007-07-18 00:54:01 · answer #1 · answered by Andromeda Newton™ 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Most people in the UK call them a cotton bud, but Americans call the Q-tips and that has leaked into some people's British vocabulary too.
Always be cotton buds to me though!
2007-07-18 01:00:55 · answer #2 · answered by Jooles 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cotton bud or (for the Americans among us) a cue tip - not sure of the exact spelling. But to be honest you shouldn't use them as they may push the wax deeper into the ear and cause aural damage
2007-07-18 02:05:39 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Its actually called a Cotton Bud.
2007-07-18 03:39:42 · answer #4 · answered by rafena 1979 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cotton buds is the name you are looking for. Q-tips are a trade name. What is interesting is that for health and safety reasons all manufacturers put a specific warning on their packs saying you should not clean your ears with them!
2007-07-18 00:57:54 · answer #5 · answered by Miss Behavin 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A cotton bud not to be confused with cotton candy which you eat unless you live in the UK then you eat candy floss not to be confused with dental floss that you clean your teeth with.
Confused you will be but hey that is the English language
2007-07-18 08:37:03 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cotton buds or tips they're called here in Australia
2007-07-18 00:54:59 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think what you mean is a small stick wrapped with a bit of cotton on the tip, or a cotton-tipped swab, or otherwise known by a brand name of Q-Tips?
2007-07-18 01:20:23 · answer #8 · answered by Booger 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I call them Q-tips but I think Q-tip is just a name brand of cotton buds .
2007-07-18 01:01:15 · answer #9 · answered by Mom22 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I call them Q-Tips, which is a generic name in the midwest but it also is one of the brand names for them.
Sometimes they are called ear cleaners, or more often "cotton swabs", on the east coast.
2007-07-18 00:57:33 · answer #10 · answered by Rat 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋