It Wasn't a Tuffet
November 25, 2013 9:58 AM Subscribe
Is there a single, non-compound English word for this kind of university lecture hall desk (those bolted-down seats with the arm-rests masquerading as desktops)?
I could swear we had a word for these when I was in school (1990s, western Canada) but the more I google, the more I think I may have just made it up. The people I've asked don't know, either. Even the manufacturer websites I've seen simply call them "desks" but calling them that just feels wrong to me. I sat at a desk and chair in a classroom, but in a lecture hall, I sat in a ______.
I came across terms like "tablet armchair" and the like but my memory is of a shorter, non-compound word of perhaps two syllables. I'm not thinking of "carrel."
I could swear we had a word for these when I was in school (1990s, western Canada) but the more I google, the more I think I may have just made it up. The people I've asked don't know, either. Even the manufacturer websites I've seen simply call them "desks" but calling them that just feels wrong to me. I sat at a desk and chair in a classroom, but in a lecture hall, I sat in a ______.
I came across terms like "tablet armchair" and the like but my memory is of a shorter, non-compound word of perhaps two syllables. I'm not thinking of "carrel."
"Lecture hall chair with [writing] desk" or "exam chair" seems to be the term.
posted by Etrigan at 10:02 AM on November 25, 2013
posted by Etrigan at 10:02 AM on November 25, 2013
Wikipedia suggests the unsatisfying "writing armchair."
posted by troika at 10:48 AM on November 25, 2013
posted by troika at 10:48 AM on November 25, 2013
I seem to recall calling the standalone versions of those things "chair desks". I don't remember if I also thought of the fixed, lecture hall versions the same thing.
posted by mhum at 11:56 AM on November 25, 2013
posted by mhum at 11:56 AM on November 25, 2013
Response by poster: I'm fairly certain of the quick, single-word aspect, as in, "Hey, save me a ___." Starting to think it might just've been "tablet," and that the newer definition of the word is messing with my memory. Still isn't quite right, though...
posted by paperback version at 1:23 PM on November 25, 2013
posted by paperback version at 1:23 PM on November 25, 2013
Hmm, I had assumed you were looking for an official title. We used to call them "chesks."
posted by troika at 2:52 PM on November 25, 2013
posted by troika at 2:52 PM on November 25, 2013
"Seat", just like at the movies.
"Hey paperback version, I'm going to grab a pop before class. Save me a seat?"
Source: 2000s, eastern Canada
posted by cathoo at 4:11 PM on November 25, 2013
"Hey paperback version, I'm going to grab a pop before class. Save me a seat?"
Source: 2000s, eastern Canada
posted by cathoo at 4:11 PM on November 25, 2013
Response by poster: "Seat", just like at the movies.
Haha.
While it wasn't "chesk," that's definitely the type of word I'm trying to recall. Did anyone call them "tablets"? If others did, maybe that's the word, after all.
posted by paperback version at 4:45 PM on November 25, 2013
Haha.
While it wasn't "chesk," that's definitely the type of word I'm trying to recall. Did anyone call them "tablets"? If others did, maybe that's the word, after all.
posted by paperback version at 4:45 PM on November 25, 2013
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posted by Sara C. at 10:02 AM on November 25, 2013