Calling It An "ink" Pen

[inkstainedruth]

Ink pen - a corral to prevent ink from roaming free on the prairie.

 

Imagine what the landscape would look like if bay State Blue roamed free.

 

White cliffs of Dover? no.

 

And they'd have to rename Yellowstone National Park - and the Redwood pines would be rainbow pines.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

I'll bite. Yes, that's how I'd say it. In fact, before seeing your post, it would not have occurred to me that there was another way to say it. I may look into it later, but I can't imagine how else one would say it.

 

Canada (Ontario). Same here

[mana]

Ink pen - a corral to prevent ink from roaming free on the prairie.

 

Imagine what the landscape would look like if bay State Blue roamed free.

 

White cliffs of Dover? no.

 

And they'd have to rename Yellowstone National Park - and the Redwood pines would be rainbow pines.

I like... no, I love the way you think!

 

[Tasmith]

I hear "ink pen" from time to time. Also hear "soda pop" sometimes too.

[pajaro]

I hear "ink pen" from time to time. Also hear "soda pop" sometimes too.

Sometimes I have heard "ink pen" and sometimes "tonic." Context gives a clue, and I think no more of it.

[Astronymus]

Sounds to mye like a lack of education. If you don't know what it is called you make a name up.

Edited August 12, 2020 by Astron

[tim77]

I always assumed an ink pen just meant you need ink to make it work. In contrast to prefilled pens such as biros, which work by magic. There cant be many non-fountain-pens which need filling.

[BaronWulfraed]

I always assumed an ink pen just meant you need ink to make it work. In contrast to prefilled pens such as biros, which work by magic. There cant be many non-fountain-pens which need filling.

How are you defining "filling"?

 

Does replacing a cartridge constitute "filling". If so, any thing above the disposable class needs filling -- rollerball, the late 60's Executive Flair, Parker Jotter ballpoints, etc. all have means to "refill" after the current ink supply is depleted.

 

That said -- I will concede that in the late 60s (5th-7th grade) I used to differentiate between "cartridge pen" and "fountain pen". The former represented by the Sheaffer "school" pen. I had not been exposed to the concept of a convertible that could take cartridges or use a converter (I suspect the late 50s Pilot pen my father transferred to me in the late 60s may have had a converter -- squeeze bladder type, but I never knew). "Fountain pen" meant "fills from a bottle".

[tleek]

I’ve heard people even call ball points ink pens. I thought maybe it was a regional thing.

[pajaro]

I always thought it was an old-timey expression. What some people called a fountain pen, or as the poster above said, even used for ballpoints by some people. Also, it does seem redundant as previously mentioned.

[AlexLeGrande]

I came across this in a linguistics course. I am not responsible for the accuracy, but the explanation they gave is: in the American south, and other places as well, "pen" and "pin" are homophones, that is, they are pronounced the same - /pin/. That is quite common, for instance bough and bow. But if someone says "Hand me a pin" the hearer may not understand if a pen or a pin is meant, if they are pronounced the same, so in the interest of clarity pen became ink pen (or ink pin, phonetically).

 

This was my experience in Jr. High in Newark New Jersey in 1962. New arrivals from the South pronounced pin and pen identically, so "ink pen" was the term used to distinguish the two.

[Freddy]

I've heard a couple of people refer to fountain pens as "ink" pens. It struck me as odd at first given that most pens, by definition, involve ink as the writing mechanism. Has anyone else heard this term used before? Is it a regional or cultural thing?

"Words are like chameleons, which reflect the color of their environment." Learned Hand

 

Regional/Cultural Thing: Hell if I know....You can look it up yourself and report back with your finding{s}....

 

Fred

Eat a rat today to live tomorrow........................

[jleeper]

I came across this in a linguistics course. I am not responsible for the accuracy, but the explanation they gave is: in the American south, and other places as well, "pen" and "pin" are homophones, that is, they are pronounced the same - /pin/. That is quite common, for instance bough and bow. But if someone says "Hand me a pin" the hearer may not understand if a pen or a pin is meant, if they are pronounced the same, so in the interest of clarity pen became ink pen (or ink pin, phonetically).

I go with this, when I grew up in rural north Missouri in the 60s and 70s, an ink pen refurred to any pen, ballpoint or fountain. And usully ballpoint.

[sansenri]

A ballpoint pen was called a 'Biro' in most of the English speaking world or 'ballpoint pen' in the USA. We have to remember that biros only came into use in the late 1940s. Before biros came along a fountain pen was called a 'pen'. There was no need for distinction. And yes, at 72 I'm old enough to have been there, done that, and by the grace of God, still around to remember it.

60s-70s same in Italy: penna (pen) = fountain pen, biro = ballpoint pen

[pajaro]

Sounds to mye like a lack of education. If you don't know what it is called you make a name up.

 

Local patois perhaps?

[Astronymus]

 

Local patois perhaps?

Maybe. It is just an assumption on my side though.

[Antenociticus]

I grew up in England. "Ink pen" always seemed to be an American term.

[tim77]

Does replacing a cartridge constitute "filling". If so, any thing above the disposable class needs filling.

 

Yeah, don't examine the logic too closely. Although if you do, I reckon you're unlikely to be using the term "ink pen" in the first place.

[Mongoosey]

Not remember fountain pens? When fountain pen nibs are seen in logos? When they are seen in Looney Tunes/Warner Bros/Bugs Bunny cartoons? When diplomats and presidents and prime ministers use them to sign important documents of state and treaties--right there on live tv?

 

That just blows my mind that people today don't know fountain pens exist.

 

Aren't they paying attention?

 

Wow. Just ... wow.

 

I didn't even realize fountain pens existed until about 3 years ago lol. And that's only because Pilot G2's were starting to fatigue my hands too much and I began an extensive search for something better.

 

Before, when I saw fountain pens in movies or shows I didn't really pay attention to them and probably figured they were only antiques or something like that. I was completely ignorant.

 

Now, I freak out if I don't have a Lamy Safari inked lol.

 

I've heard a couple of people refer to fountain pens as "ink" pens. It struck me as odd at first given that most pens, by definition, involve ink as the writing mechanism. Has anyone else heard this term used before? Is it a regional or cultural thing?

 

I think saying "ink pen" is a shortcut that's valid enough to differentiate it as a fountain pen. It's like "Fountain Pen Slang" in a way for some.

 

My nephew, whose 5 years old, independently began using the term "ink pen" for fountain pens. It simply had to do with the fact that it used liquid ink you had to fill it up with from a bottle.

 

I'd try to correct him, but he was obstinate lol, so... whatever. And when he'd ask me for an "ink pen" I'd know what he was talking about and I'd give him one or a few of mine to have and share with his sisters. They have all my Metro's, Kakuno's, Jinhao's and others lol... in fact, they now have more "ink pens" than I do lol.

Edited August 15, 2020 by Mongoosey

[Driften]

I came across this in a linguistics course. I am not responsible for the accuracy, but the explanation they gave is: in the American south, and other places as well, "pen" and "pin" are homophones, that is, they are pronounced the same - /pin/. That is quite common, for instance bough and bow. But if someone says "Hand me a pin" the hearer may not understand if a pen or a pin is meant, if they are pronounced the same, so in the interest of clarity pen became ink pen (or ink pin, phonetically).

 

Very true! My parents were from the mid-west and pen and pin were sounded the same and they said ink pen to tell them apart. I grew up in California and to me there are ink pens, ballpoint pens, and pins. I have a hard time hearing the difference between pen and pin.