Author Topic: Dralon  (Read 1241 times)

pat

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Dralon
« on: September 17, 2020, 06:50:33 PM »
Dralon was rejected in a recent puzzle. It's a type of upholstery fabric, sometimes spelt with a capital D, sometimes not. I'm not sure if it's a brand name but if not, I'd like to suggest it for inclusion.

birdy

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Re: Dralon
« Reply #1 on: September 18, 2020, 04:20:27 AM »
I don't know the word, but when I googled it, it seems to be uncapitalized, and looks like what we might call acrylic. Might it be what we call microfiber on this side of the pond?  I have that on a couple of my furniture pieces.

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Re: Dralon
« Reply #2 on: September 18, 2020, 08:25:23 AM »
Never heard of it.
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Alan W

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Re: Dralon
« Reply #3 on: September 18, 2020, 02:39:01 PM »
Dralon is in a few dictionaries, including Collins, Oxford (online) and Wiktionary. And it has been used by various writers, including some novelists. For example, Sue Townsend in The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole (1984):

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This proof of the cruelty of fate ... reduced me to silent sobs into the Dralon cushions.

The only possible obstacle to accepting it is whether it is normally written with a capital D. The online Collins and Oxford dictionaries list it with a capital letter, and no alternative. On the other hand Wiktionary presents it in all lower-case letters. The Shorter Oxford and the full OED both list it with an initial capital letter, but acknowledge dralon as an alternate form.

The fabric manufacturer's website, dralon.com always writes the product's name with a lower case d, followed by a registered trademark symbol:

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Consistently high quality and reliable service and delivery have enabled dralonĀ® to remain a leader among acrylic fiber producers even under ever-increasing competition.

The fact that dralon is a proprietary term is not necessarily a barrier to us allowing it. Our rule is about whether it is normally capitalised. Some authors write it with a lower case d, for example Fionna Barr in The Darkness Within (2012):

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We had a 'cosy corner' with a small sofa, upholstered in brown dralon, Millie wouldn't sit on it because it was itchy, and a coffee table with a glass top.

The word seems to be used mainly in Britain (and presumably in its German homeland). Some of the dictionaries label it as a British term, and I didn't see it at all in any US dictionary. Like Jacki, I hadn't heard of it, so it may be unknown here in Australia. The fabric may be sold outside Britain under another name, but that's not material.

The word will be allowed in future, as a rare word.
Alan Walker
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pat

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Re: Dralon
« Reply #4 on: September 18, 2020, 05:34:01 PM »
Thanks, Alan.

cmh

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Re: Dralon
« Reply #5 on: September 18, 2020, 06:12:41 PM »
Those of us of a certain age in Britain had dralon everything! Head boards , curtains , 3 piece suites etc. Usually in terrible shades of beige and brown although my family veered to greens. Ah the tasteful 1970's!! There seems to be a lot of 70's clothing in the shops again but please no return of dralon upholstery!

Hobbit

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Re: Dralon
« Reply #6 on: September 19, 2020, 04:23:43 AM »
Oh heavens Christine that brings back memories!  My family had an antimacassar on the back of the dralon sofa & chairs :laugh:  Wonder if Brylcreem had anything to do with that? :laugh:
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cmh

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Re: Dralon
« Reply #7 on: September 19, 2020, 07:07:59 AM »
My grandparents still did antimacassars but not my parents. Perhaps because my Dad was "modern" and used Brilliantine instead on his comb over!!

lilys field

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Re: Dralon
« Reply #8 on: September 19, 2020, 11:17:22 AM »
Your recollections of Dralon - a fabric previously unknown to me - and the antimacassars, which are all too familiar, had me in stitches until I realized I was one of Those People. When we had a latch key pre-teen in the house , we had possibly the most indestructible sofa covered in a material called Herculon. The salesman told me you could shoot a bullet through it and there would be no visible difference. It was tweedy shades of brown and somewhat abrasive to bare skin. In every way it was an eyesore and decorating nightmare. But throughout the upheavals of the Teen years there were never any tears over spilt milk, grape juice and other further insults to its ugliness.

 

cmh

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Re: Dralon
« Reply #9 on: September 19, 2020, 05:01:50 PM »
Before the dralon era we had a greeny brown tweedy 3 piece with black vinyl arms  on black wooden legs.So stylish (not). It had a weird set of rubber straps to support the thin seat cushions instead of springs which meant that after sitting for a while with the inevitable shuffling you would find yourself sinking through the gaps in the straps.It was my parents first ever brand new suite after  about 25 years married and quite rightly they were very pleased with it despite the short comings. Happy memories.

Valerie

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Re: Dralon
« Reply #10 on: September 19, 2020, 05:30:56 PM »
My partner's son (47) and his girlfriend (much younger) absolutely LOVE all that "OLD" stuff (their words).  She is always fossicking around on eBay trying to find it.  Apparently it's super "retro" and very popular these days, as are vinyl records and cassette tapes.  Go figure! 
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mkenuk

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Re: Dralon
« Reply #11 on: September 19, 2020, 06:03:58 PM »
  She is always fossicking around on eBay trying to find it. 

fossick. What a wonderful word - and it's in COD along with fossicker, one who fossicks.

There is a Northern English word with much the same meaning - firkle, although as I have never seen it in print it might conceivably be spelled furkle or ferkle,

Are there any Lankies or Yorkies who can enlighten me? It's not Geordie, as far as I know.

cmh

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Re: Dralon
« Reply #12 on: September 19, 2020, 07:29:00 PM »
Retro is very "now" in the UK too. We have endless TV shows about finding antiques and restoring them and increasingly they restore "mid century" items too. Many of the true antique chairs are found to have been recovered in dralon during that mid century.
I spend a lot of my leisure time wandering around antique centres but I do tend to omit the retro stalls. It is a bit depressing seeing your childhood sold as "old"!!
I am Yorkshire born but I don't think I have ever heard of firtling. I know the word fossick but I doubt that I have ever used that either. Off the cuff I would have assumed that to have been a word I know from a Shakespeare play but I haven't looked that up to check.
All of this goes to show that the phrase "what goes around comes around" is one of the truest phrases we have.

Valerie

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Re: Dralon
« Reply #13 on: September 19, 2020, 09:00:34 PM »
My partner studied and worked as a geologist for many years, MK.  So "fossick" is a very common word in our household.
I found the word "furkle" online which means to rummage, forage, search, root through something.  I actually think I prefer it to "fossick".  It has a glorious old worldly feel about it.  Very fitting since we're discussing old.
My partner is also a hoarder, Christine, and one of his favourite TV programmes on our ABC is Antiques Roadshow.
Personally I'm a thrower-outer.  But they do say that opposites attract.


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Alan W

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Re: Dralon
« Reply #14 on: September 19, 2020, 09:05:01 PM »
fossick. What a wonderful word - and it's in COD along with fossicker, one who fossicks.

Fossick first appeared in Australia on the goldfields in the 1850s. According to the Australian National Dictionary it meant, "To search or pick about for gold on the surface, usu. in a desultory or unsystematic way and often on an abandoned or unattended claim. Also with about, around." It quickly expanded in usage to mean any searching or rummaging.

And, yes, Chihuahua does allow fossick and fossicker.
Alan Walker
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