Eraser

[emsr2d2]

I'd use "shavings" if I had to come up with a word for them. I can honestly say I've never thought about it before. I imagine I would probably have said (as a child, when I actually used erasers) "There are bits of rubber all over the page!"

We always called them "rubbers", never "erasers" when I was a kid.

[GoesStation]

There is no contraction for "there are", am I right?

Some people contract it to there're in speech. In writing, the contraction should only be used in quoted speech or very casual contexts.

[Rover_KE]

We always called them "rubbers", never "erasers" when I was a kid.

So did we. I think rubbers are more likely to mean condoms to our American friends.

[emsr2d2]

So did we. I think rubbers are more likely to mean condoms to our American friends.

I think I was probably about 13 when I started calling them erasers, once I realised the "other" meaning of "rubber". By that age, the use of "rubber" would cause tittering amongst pupils.

[GoesStation]

So did we. I think rubbers are more likely to mean condoms to our American friends.

It also used to mean low, rubber overshoes we used to slip over our street shoes in inclement weather. Those have largely gone out of use, but I suppose some Americans still wear them.