How come they are called “tubes” of snuff? I would have thought that “tub” would be more appropriate. (That’s my semantics background rearing up it’s ugly head again!)

As far as I know, only the F&T containers are referred to as tubes, being taller than they are wide. To me a tub would be wider than it is tall, though semantically both terms are cognate. I guess that’s just my semantics/linguistics background at work

Many of the US snuff containers are in fact (cardboard) tubes, with metal caps on the ends.

It’s pronounced tub-E that might be the confusion. Kidding of course.

(tub-E) ⊻ ¬ (tub-E) … (That’s from logical Shakespere don’cha know…) I’ve got a nasty heritage in mathamatics too.

that’s cool actualy. I’am an write amatuer fiction and one of the things you notice after awhile is that words are almost magical in a way. To be able to really know how to use langauge an math is so very super usefull. If nothing else it is admirable too, to know anything technical.

Have I finally come across another person who is struck with wonder at the ability of my being able to make some noise and a concept in my mind is then in your mind? Other people merely looked at me a bit askance when I expressed my awe at the miracle of language. It seems to be something that everybody just takes for granted.

it’s amazing that langauge even works at all. When I’am writing a story it feels a little odd because I try to paint a picture in someone elses head. Unlike technical writing often I want people to be able to take their own interpretation and hopefully think they are seeing excately what I intended. Though like technical writing sometimes I belabour which words to use because I want to make sure my intention is as unfiltered as possible. For example if there is are two dogs in a story I’am writing I might feel that dog A needs to remind you a little bit of your favorite dog so the only discriptions I’ll use are affectionate ones. Where dog B needs to be seen as a specfic dog so I’ll mention his chiped tooth and how easy it is to notice when he snarls at you and that he’s the largest mangiest poodle ever. Langauge is another one of these things that the more you think about it the more fun you can have.

Nice stream of bobness!

Thanks. I forget how eccentric I’am at times. I really do. Most of the time I think of myself as quite plain.

The difference between the right word and an almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug -twain

that is so true. Sometimes on word makes the hole diffrence. No one would have read the Old Guy and the Sea.

I’ve spent my whole life being fascinated with words and language (a good thing for a writer and editor to have as an obsession). Sometimes the fascination takes me into peculiar areas of research, like studying cultures of the past (and even a few in the present) in which words are perceived to have mystical power. I’m also intrigued with the theory of “language as virus” created by William S. Burroughs, and the subsequent development of memetics as a field of study, as well as the notion of conversational language as a form of hypnosis, of which famed hypnotherapist Milton Erickson was a notable proponent.

Burroughs is one of my heros.

I thought this was going to be an explanation of where the “tube” in tube rose comes from… For what it’s worth, I refer to most of my containers as tins. F&T, Scotches, and GH snuffs are the few I might consider tubes. I find tin to work as well for them, though it doesn’t present quite as clear a mental image.

Tube rose is a type of flower. It’s the one on the label of the Tube Rose snuff. It’s got a slightly tubular shape as you can see.

The flower of Nicotiana is tubular and has been called tube rose.