Informal term for a "propelling pencil" please?

[Mehrgan]

Hi,
Could you please give me the informal name for "propelling pencil"? Especially in BrE.


Many thanks.

 

[Rover_KE]

Some office supply websites call them 'mechanical pencils', Merghan, but I've never heard anyone use that term in real life.

I don't think there's anything better than propelling pencil - formal or informal.

Rover

 

[Mehrgan]

1. Is "lead pencil" a right synonym?
2. Would you please give me some collocations used with it? For example, should I say, 'I've run out of lead!', 'Have you got any extra lead?', 'I need to change the lead', or, 'My lead pencil takes 0.7 leads.'?

 

[Mehrgan]

Some office supply websites call them 'mechanical pencils', Merghan, but I've never heard anyone use that term in real life.

I don't think there's anything better than propelling pencil - formal or informal.

Rover

Many thanks dear Rover. I asked so cos I thought school children might find it hard to use "propelling", which sounded a bit formal to me. I thought there must be a childish term, slang or something for it in BrE. Ta!

 

[illum51]

(Not a teacher)

Here in NZ, I've only ever heard the terms 'mechanical pencil' and 'clutch pencil' (the latter not since my student days doing Tech. drawing).

 

[Mehrgan]

ZCould anyone please check my sentences? I mean the collocations. Thanks a lot in advance.

 

[BobK]

1. Is "lead pencil" a right synonym?
2. Would you please give me some collocations used with it? For example, should I say, 'I've run out of lead!':?: 'My lead's run out' would be much better', 'Have you got an[STRIKE]y[/STRIKE] extra lead*?', 'I need to change the lead':tick:, or, 'My lead pencil takes 0.7 leads.':tick:?

:down: A standard old pencil is a lead pencil.

* Note that - as in your last example - 'a lead' is countable in this case.

I like NZ's 'clutch pencil', but it doesn't work in Br. English.

b

 

[emsr2d2]

As a BrE speaker, I have only ever heard "propelling pencil" and "mechanical pencil".

 

[Barb_D]

As for me, this is the first time I've ever seen the term "propelling pencil." The only one I've ever known is "mechanical pencil."

 

[Mehrgan]

Thanks to all dear posters. Due to my imperfect knowledge of English I was thinking English speakers in this case (which to me sounds as a word of high frequency) might use the reduction form of "clipping" and change the word into something like "prop" instead of "propelling pencil". Is it probable that some students use this new form in contemporary English? Thanks.

 

[bhaisahab]

:down: A standard old pencil is a lead pencil.

* Note that - as in your last example - 'a lead' is countable in this case.

I like NZ's 'clutch pencil', but it doesn't work in Br. English.

b

Back in the dim distant 60s, when I was at school, we called them "clutch pencils".

 

[BobK]

I doubt it. They'd probably just say 'pencil'.

b

 

[Tullia]

I no longer use them to be honest, but when I was at college we would refer to them, informally, as "clicky" pencils (because you have to click the top to move the lead on, I assumed). However I don't think I've heard them referred to as that very often outside of the time when I was at that particular college, so it might well be a piece of specific local slang. I rather like it though, it's lovely and descriptive.