bobby pin

English

A plain bobby pin

Alternative forms

• bobbypin

Etymology

From bob haircut, which the bobby pin was designed to keep under control.

Noun

bobby pin (plural bobby pins)

1. (US) A type of double-pronged hairpin.
   • 1990, Stephen King, The Moving Finger:

     [H]e still didn't like looking down the drain. The brass cross-hatch inside that was supposed to catch things like clots of hair or dropped bobby-pins had disappeared years ago, and so there was only a dark hole rimmed by a circle of tarnished steel.

Synonyms

• hairgrip, kirby grip

Translations

type of hair pin — see hairgrip