pipe cleaner
4
3.0
- noun
- /ˈpaɪp ˈkliːnər/
:
limpiapipas
- She used a pipe cleaner to remove the buildup inside her tobacco pipe.
Examples
-
Students create models of flowers from felt and pipe cleaners, with the plant parts carefully labeled and displayed.
Academic text (2001) -
Have an adult wrap the pipe cleaner around the straws to avoid poking little fingers with the sharp wire inside.
Blog text (19) -
Start with a green pipe cleaner or any other color you might have on hand.
Blog text (19) -
Inside are three white mice made of pipe cleaners.
Fiction book (1993) -
Several worked on a model of the stomach using Legos and pipe cleaners.
Academic text (2015) -
Tightly wrap the piece of pipe cleaner around the end of the straw.
Blog text (19) -
Wrap the pipe cleaner around the bend in the candy cane and twist to make it stay.
Blog text (2) -
After you dust them, create your own spider web using popsicle sticks, yarn, egg cartons, and pipe cleaners.
Blog text (18) -
Use pipe cleaners for stringing the beads, as the beads don't slip off as easily, and their rigidity makes threading much easier.
Academic text (2013) -
Mrs. Stone was neighborhood-renowned for her pine cone creations—little creatures with pipe cleaner arms and acorn hats.
Fiction book (2000)
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a tool for cleaning pipes' is directly and compositionally derived from 'pipe' (the object to be cleaned) + 'cleaner' (an agent or device that cleans). Compound noun patterns of 'X + cleaner' (e.g., vacuum cleaner, window cleaner) are common and cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer the MWE meaning, despite 'cleaner' sometimes also referring to a liquid or person in other contexts.
Etymology
The noun pipe cleaner started as a small tool made to clean the long stem of a tobacco pipe; its soft, fuzzy wire could reach inside and remove dirt. Because it was used 'to clean' a pipe, people called it a pipe cleaner, and later children used the same fuzzy wires for 'crafts', so the name also refers to the craft material today.