poppet

poppet
   , poppy shows
   A 'display custom of children in the 19th and early 20th centuries, where they arranged flowers, small dolls, dolls' house furnishings, etc., inside a shoe-box or similar container; adults or other children would be asked to pay a penny, or sometimes only a pin, for the privilege of looking in through a slit in the side. Poppies were not necessarily used; the name may be a misunderstanding of 'peepshow'. As children carried their boxes through the street, they would chant such rhymes as:
   A pin to see the poppet show All manners of colours oh! See the ladies all below!
   A recent informant recalls how, as a little girl living in Hove (Sussex) in the 1920s, she would put ferns or beach pebbles on the bottom of a shoe-box, and then flowers and 'little bits and pieces of coloured glass, feathers, shells - anything to make a pretty pattern', especially, if possible, 'coloured paper from a sweet wrapping'. Boys in Norwood (London) at the same period made peepshows in cereal boxes, depicting scenes from stories or nursery rhymes.
   ■ Gomme, 1894: 41-2; Irene Saxby, London Lore 1:2 (1978), 19-20.

A Dictionary of English folklore. . 2014.

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  • Poppet — Pop pet, n. 1. See {Puppet}. [1913 Webster] 2. (Naut.) One of certain upright timbers on the bilge ways, used to support a vessel in launching. Totten. [1913 Webster] 3. (Mach.) An upright support or guide fastened at the bottom only. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • poppet — [päp′it] n. [var. of PUPPET] 1. TAILSTOCK 2. a valve that moves into and from its seat: often cam driven and spring loaded for a rapid repeating, popping action as in a gasoline engine: in full poppet valve 3. any of certain timbers used to… …   English World dictionary

  • poppet — small human figure used in witchcraft and sorcery, c.1300, early form of PUPPET (Cf. puppet) (q.v.). Meaning small or dainty person is recorded from late 14c.; later a term of endearment …   Etymology dictionary

  • poppet — ► NOUN Brit. informal ▪ an endearingly sweet or pretty child. ORIGIN Latin puppa girl, doll ; related to PUPPET(Cf. ↑puppetry) …   English terms dictionary

  • Poppet — The word poppet is an older spelling of puppet, from the Middle English popet, meaning a small child or doll. In British Dialect it continues to hold this meaning. Poppet is also a chiefly English term of endearment. [… …   Wikipedia

  • poppet —    Etymologically, this is an earlier form of the word ‘puppet’, which has taken over many of its senses.    The spelling ‘poppet’ has been retained, however, since the fourteenth century, for the word applied to a small, dainty person who is… …   A dictionary of epithets and terms of address

  • poppet — n. 1 Brit. colloq. (esp. as a term of endearment) a small or dainty person. 2 (in full poppet head) the head of a lathe. 3 a small square piece of wood fitted inside the gunwale or washstrake of a boat. Phrases and idioms: poppet head Brit. the… …   Useful english dictionary

  • poppet — noun (C) BrE spoken a way of talking to or about a child or animal you are fond of: Isn t he a poppet? | Come here, poppet …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • poppet — UK [ˈpɒpɪt] / US [ˈpɑpɪt] noun [countable] Word forms poppet : singular poppet plural poppets British spoken used for talking to or about a child that you like …   English dictionary

  • poppet — Poppit Pop pit, n. a small plastic bead with opposed holes and protuberant knobs, so shaped that the beads may be fastened to each other in chains and detached easily, and can be used to form variable length chains for use as necklaces, bracelets …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • poppet — Puppet Pup pet, n. [OE. popet, OF. poupette; akin to F. poup[ e]e a doll, probably from L. puppa, pupa, a girl, doll, puppet. Cf. {Poupeton}, {Pupa}, {Pupil}, {Puppy}.] [Written also {poppet}.] 1. A small image in the human form; a doll. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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