(n.) an elastic brass strip mounted on a wooden block carries a button for a finger; a platinum point on its upper surface is in contact with a platinum plate on a brass stop fixed above it; and the whole key is encased in a rubber bag packed in felt.
- Century Dictionary & Encyclopedia, 1911 ed.
2 comments:
But WHY???
What the hell is the thing used for, pardon the dangling preposition if you can. And elastic brass?
Never heard of it.
Hey, I just record what I read. The Century Cyclo is often surreally cryptic, thus poetic. Especially in regards outmoded technology. Surely there's a use for a strap key, but what that use is is anyone's guess.
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