Do we say "a bar of staples"?

Question

We say a bar of chocolate.

Do we call it "a bar of staples" as shown in the above picture?

a bar of [x] implies the thing is all the same. Not (wait for it) stuck together. — Lambie, Sep 21 '22 at 17:38
This is a good example of the unusual case where there is a word for something in English, and the thing itself is familiar, but many native speakers aren't sure what the word is. — Mark Foskey, Sep 22 '22 at 04:51
This may not be the "official" word, but as a native speaker I knew immediately what you meant and it didn't sound "weird" or out of place. — David258, Sep 22 '22 at 15:12
I've generally referred to it as a "stick" of staples, and I hear this term about as often as I hear "strip". — Hot Licks, Sep 22 '22 at 17:48
Honestly, this is something I'm used to referring to by what it does, not by what it looks like. So, I'd call it a "stapler refill". — JonathanZ, Sep 22 '22 at 23:57
A bar of chocolate often has notches for easy breaking off of pieces. Staples in a bar format are similarly fastened together in a way that allows pieces to be easily broken off by a stapler. Personally, I would call a “bar of staples” a “thing of staples.” — Giacomo1968, Sep 23 '22 at 01:29
The best answer is the advertising that is inserted into this page. They say "strip". The free market has spoken :- ) — ssimm, Sep 23 '22 at 16:23

score 30 · Accepted Answer · edited Mar 10 '23 at 21:18

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If we wish to be exact, or, perhaps, are looking for a stationery product, we can say a strip of staples. Office supply stores and websites sell staplers that are 'half strip' or "full strip". I once had a very long stapler that could take two strips altogether. A full strip (at least in the UK) seems to contain around 200 staples. 210 staples is a very common number.

Full Strip Staplers

Standard desktop staplers are usually full strip staplers. These staplers can be loaded with an entire strip of staples (hence the name!) and typically have a stapling capacity of between 20 to 50 sheets of 80gsm paper. Perfect for everyday use, full strip staplers are designed to be used on a flat surface.

Half Strip Staplers

Similar to full strip staplers but half the size, half strip staplers are great for light duty use within the office and will have a stapling capacity of between 15 and 30 sheets of 80gsm paper. They hold half a strip of staples and are also designed to be used on a flat surface like a desk or worktop.

What type of stapler do I need?

edited Mar 10 '23 at 21:18

Laurel

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answered Sep 21 '22 at 10:56

Michael Harvey

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Strip is natural in the US too. – stangdon Sep 21 '22 at 11:16
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Well, I'm a native (British) English speaker and I didn't know what to call these until now. Strip makes sense, but I don't remember hearing it. – Colin Fine Sep 21 '22 at 15:52
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@ColinFine - it's familiar to most people who have to order office supplies. – Michael Harvey Sep 21 '22 at 17:34
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In my experience, we all just say staples. strip is a semi-technical term and it makes complete sense but I would not have thought of it until this question arose. – Lambie Sep 21 '22 at 17:36
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@Lambie I would also accept brick of staples, or even "thing of staples" or "thingy of staples." – DKNguyen Sep 21 '22 at 19:10
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an incredibly informative post! – Fattie Sep 21 '22 at 19:27
@Lambie I think that the words 'strip' might arise more in the context of staplers, i.e. half- or full-strip. Otherwise, when reloading, people just get a box and take some out. However the OP did post a picture and ask 'what is the word for this?', so I feel the answer I gave was justified. Just saying 'it's a thingy of staples' would be less than helpful. When I was younger I was a stationery clerk, and I got used to explaining what a 'ream' of paper is, the name for 'those clippy things' (bulldog clips usually), and the difference between a 'ring binder' and a 'lever arch file'. – Michael Harvey Sep 21 '22 at 20:00
Re lever arch files versus ring binders, it was common to be blamed for getting the wrong thing by people who had asked for one thing, but meant the other. Don't get me started on comb binders. We had one that caused such a lot of fuss and bother, e.g. entitled people feeling that their documents were important enough to use it, but operating it wrongly and wrecking their document or jamming the bloody thing, and running out of combs that were costly and hard to find. When I became manager I quietly ditched it. – Michael Harvey Sep 21 '22 at 20:05
Office supply companies don't like calling something a 'thingy'. It makes their inventory and ordering systems needlessly complicated. – Michael Harvey Sep 21 '22 at 20:08
Many people called ball-point, roller-ball, and gel pens 'kind of Biros' and expected me to read their minds. – Michael Harvey Sep 21 '22 at 20:10
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brick of staples doesn't work. bricks are all of the same material. – Lambie Sep 21 '22 at 20:44
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might be worth stating explicitly that this term will certainly be well understood, native speakers will often use other ad hoc constructions as they lack a specific term in their active vocabulary – Tristan Sep 22 '22 at 09:10
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@Lambie "strip" tends to come out naturally on the rare occasions people need to refer to the assembly in which they're supplied, e.g. "the stupid stapler won't quite fit a whole strip [of staples] in one go" (I've got one like that), otherwise "staples" or "box of staples" (which of course contains many strips) – Chris H Sep 22 '22 at 10:18
@ChrisH I never said strip doesn't work. I said brick doesn't work. – Lambie Sep 22 '22 at 19:54
I can imagine a box of staples like in my illustration could be compared to a brick, in terms of proportions, but the item asked about (with picture) is a strip. – Michael Harvey Sep 22 '22 at 19:59
@Lambie I was responding to your earlier comment describing "strip" as "semi-technical"and that you wouldn't have thought of it, with an example of when it's useful – Chris H Sep 22 '22 at 20:36
@ChrisH Nevertheless, it is semi-technical. – Lambie Sep 22 '22 at 20:40
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Strip makes perfect sense because of the way that you load them into the stapler. – Hollis Williams Sep 30 '22 at 14:32

score 6 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 21 '22 at 20:25

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I agree with Michael Harvey's answer of strip, but as another suggestion for what a native speaker might call this if they didn't know the commonly used term, I think a block of staples would also be reasonable. It's not a perfect fit but would probably be understood by anyone who had seen one before.

answered Sep 21 '22 at 20:25

dbmag9

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A row of staples would also work, I think. – Davislor Sep 22 '22 at 00:33
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A colleague at the office (Dutch) asked for a "comb of staples". Which confused the British colleague, but the others (German and Dutch) knew exactly what she wanted. – Tonny Sep 22 '22 at 11:45
@Tonny I'm guessing that the German word is the translation of the English word "comb". So they understood by translating back to German. A native English speaker would consider it weird. – Barmar Sep 22 '22 at 14:23
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@Davislor I would assume that 'a row of staples' meant a bunch fixed to a document, unless the context was VERY clear. – MikeB Sep 22 '22 at 14:36
@barmar No, it is not a direct translation. My German is a bit shaky (I'm Dutch), but as far as I know the German versions, like the Dutch ones, translate to either strip or row. – Tonny Sep 22 '22 at 15:31
Je regrette de dire que la langue de Voltaire permet Agrafeuse Essentials Full Strip. – Michael Harvey Sep 22 '22 at 21:46
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I've heard comb used for staples, and I had no trouble understanding what was meant. It's not the first thing I'd think of but visually there's a strong resemblence and it is sensible. – barbecue Sep 23 '22 at 03:38
''Row'' would not work for me, ''a row of staples'' sounds to me like you have laid them out in a row. Also ''comb'' would not make any sense to me. – Hollis Williams Sep 30 '22 at 14:32

Do we say "a bar of staples"?

2 Answers2