[Sca-cooks] pocketbooks

[Phlip]

Ene bichizh ogsen baina shuu...

> So, why is it called a "pocketbook"? Seems more like what paperbacks
> should be called. Pocketbooks aren't small enough to put in a pocket
> are they? And even if they are, they aren't generally carried in your
> pocket are they? What was the period term for such things? "Purses"?
> for both men and women?
> Stefan

Well, think about it, Stefan- they function as an external pocket (women's
clothes rarely have pockets, and in those that do, the pockets are the next
best thing to useless). Furthermore, they open and close like books. I would
suspect the term came into play the early part of the 20th century when
purses started using those hinged openings, and that the term is staying,
despite all the variations we have more commonly today- saddlebag looking
things, drawstrings, et al.

Phlip

 If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is probably not a
cat.

Never a horse that cain't be rode,
And never a rider who cain't be throwed....