What do you call it?

[Boris Tatarenko]

What do you call it? ;-) I'd say it's a brush, but I'm not sure.
Thanks.

 

[MikeNewYork]

It looks like a toilet brush to me.

 

[Boris Tatarenko]

Yeah, it's for a toilet. Can I say simply a "brush"?

 

[Matthew Wai]

A brush may be a toothbrush, hairbrush, shoe brush, shaving brush, etc.

Not a teacher.

 

[MikeNewYork]

You can, but it will not be understood. There are other brushes.

 

[Rover_KE]

I'm going to stick my neck out and say that to the overwhelming majority of native English speakers, this is a brush:

Specifically, it's a sweeping brush, but with one exception, every other brush is named according to its purpose: toothbrush, shaving brush, lavatory brush, scrubbing brush, bottlebrush, paintbrush, hairbrush, nailbrush etc.

The exception is a hand brush — also used for sweeping on a smaller scale and often paired with a dustpan:

 

[emsr2d2]

In BrE, what Rover has posted is a broom. It's specifically an outside broom. One with softer bristles is an (indoor) broom. The second picture is "a dustpan and brush". The picture in the original post is definitely a "toilet brush".

 

[Rover_KE]

In my dialect of BE, this is a broom:

 

[emsr2d2]

Sorry, I am utterly convinced you're an AusE speaker! Oops. For me, that's a besom.

 

[Rover_KE]

(Not an Australian)

In NW England, a besom is a homemade broom made out of twigs:

Witches ride on broomsicks — not besom sticks.

 

[emsr2d2]

I agree entirely that witches ride on broomsticks but if I saw a photo of a witch riding on a (modern) item for sweeping the floor, she would still be riding a broomstick, not a brushstick.

It might well be another regional thing but I have never called THIS a brush.

 

[Barb_D]

Hmm. The default "brush" is a hairbrush for me.

That was a broom, for sure.

 

[Raymott]

A besom is a broom (I've just found out). I think 'broom' is a more inclusive term. (For me, it doesn't include toilet brushes or dustpan brushes).
Here are some brooms and some brushes:
https://www.google.com.au/search?no...3.5.0....0...1c.1.45.img..1.4.625.tjZZItl1EA4

https://www.google.com.au/search?no...1.5.0....0...1c.1.45.img..1.4.372.1D3R4M4VAcE

 

[MikeNewYork]

There are many brushes here (along with some combs).

 

[emsr2d2]

I agree that neither a toilet brush nor a dustpan brush would come under the term "broom". For me, a broom is long-handled, made of either plastic or wood and has a generally rectangular collection of soft or hard bristles on the end and is used for sweeping the floor or a paved outside area.

A toilet brush and a dustpan brush would come under "brushes".

I've never spent so long discussing household cleaning implements! :shock:

 

[Raymott]

I've never spent so long discussing household cleaning implements! :shock:

Are you lucky enough to have a maid?

 

[SoothingDave]

In BrE, what Rover has posted is a broom. It's specifically an outside broom. One with softer bristles is an (indoor) broom. The second picture is "a dustpan and brush". The picture in the original post is definitely a "toilet brush".

Both Rover's picture and the witch's broom are brooms.

 

[MikeNewYork]

In BrE, what Rover has posted is a broom. It's specifically an outside broom. One with softer bristles is an (indoor) broom. The second picture is "a dustpan and brush". The picture in the original post is definitely a "toilet brush".

I would call the first of Rover's pictures a "push broom".

 

[emsr2d2]

I would call the first of Rover's pictures a "push broom".

Definitely not used in BrE. Presumably that is because the only things we call brooms are all "pushed", although of course they are equally effective when pulled.

 

[Rover_KE]

What I call a brush is pushed:

What I call a broom is swept from side to side: