Don't blot your copybook!

@JudyEv (326222)
Rockingham, Australia
November 25, 2022 4:38pm CST
MyLotter @changjiangzhibin89 commented on me using the phrase ‘blotting my copybook’. Very few would remember ‘copybooks’. They were before my time too when I was going to school but I have seen them. They were exercise books and the top of each page had letters/words/sentences which the student was expected to copy onto the blank lines below. Hence ‘copybooks’. When a student graduated to using ink, a ‘dip and scratch’ nib was used. You dipped the nib in the inkwell then wrote with it. If you weren’t careful, ink would drip from the pen and you’d ‘blot your copybook’, incurring the wrath of the teacher. Blotting paper was used to carefully press over the wet ink. So there you have it. Be careful not to blot your copybook by doing something silly. The photo shows old children’s toys and books. These are displayed in an on (apple) packing shed in Donnybrook, Western Australia. It’s been converted into a very nice café.
18 people like this
14 responses
M.-L.
@MALUSE (69409)
• Germany
25 Nov 22
I learnt to write on slate!
4 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (326222)
• Rockingham, Australia
26 Nov 22
My mother used a slate. I thought they were very quaint! lol
1 person likes this
changjiangzhibin89
@changjiangzhibin89 (16548)
• China
26 Nov 22
Thanks for mentioning me and letting me know the origin of the phrase ‘blotting my copybook’ ! Copybook is also used as adjective that means completely suitable or correct.
3 people like this
Ptrikha_2
@ptrikha_2 (45576)
• India
8 Dec 22
@changjiangzhibin89 I have seen Sports (especially Cricket) commentators using this word, although not so frequently!
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (326222)
• Rockingham, Australia
26 Nov 22
You're correct about the other meaning of it. I didn't think to mention that.
2 people like this
Anna
@LadyDuck (459514)
• Switzerland
26 Nov 22
I remember writing with the pen that needed the inkwell, it was such a pain, I always had my blotting paper ready to avoid major disasters.
2 people like this
Anna
@LadyDuck (459514)
• Switzerland
26 Nov 22
@JudyEv We moved to fountain pens later, biros were never allowed when I went to school.
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (326222)
• Rockingham, Australia
26 Nov 22
We didn't have to use ink for very long then we moved on to fountain pens and biros.
2 people like this
Fleur
@Fleura (29222)
• United Kingdom
25 Nov 22
I think I might have written about this before, but a year or two ago the girls and I learned how to make quill pens from goose feathers and I was surprised at how enthusiastic they both were at using this 'old technology' and what good results they got!
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (326222)
• Rockingham, Australia
26 Nov 22
Using a crochet hook, I dug out the centre of a turkey wing feather once then cut down a biro refill and inserted that. I felt very 'oldie worldy'.
2 people like this
Fleur
@Fleura (29222)
• United Kingdom
26 Nov 22
@JudyEv Oh a clever little 'cheat' method! We did it the genuine oldie worldy way!
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (326222)
• Rockingham, Australia
26 Nov 22
@Fleura They used goose quills in the top (bendy part) of horse-driving whips too. I was going to research that one day.
1 person likes this
Ruby Hawk
@RubyHawk (99423)
• Atlanta, Georgia
26 Nov 22
I learned to write on a tablet with a lead pencil.
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (326222)
• Rockingham, Australia
26 Nov 22
I wonder what sort of surface the tablet had.
2 people like this
Ruby Hawk
@RubyHawk (99423)
• Atlanta, Georgia
26 Nov 22
@JudyEv It was thick paper for sheets to write on , and a cardboard cover on the outside.
2 people like this
LindaOH
@LindaOHio (157402)
• United States
26 Nov 22
We didn't have the dip and write method; but I remember filling pens with ink and then graduating to the cartridge pens. It was all very messy.
2 people like this
Heather Echola
@GardenGerty (157675)
• United States
26 Nov 22
@LindaOHio I was excited to find some more exotic colors, like a teal green ink. I am just a colorful character, I guess. That was in the cartridges.
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (326222)
• Rockingham, Australia
26 Nov 22
Fountain pens had to be filled very carefully and sometimes they would leak.
3 people like this
LindaOH
@LindaOHio (157402)
• United States
26 Nov 22
@JudyEv We all had blue fingers all of the time!
3 people like this
Heather Echola
@GardenGerty (157675)
• United States
26 Nov 22
I have read of such in books, thanks for the explanation.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (326222)
• Rockingham, Australia
26 Nov 22
It's interesting how education has advanced.
popciclecold
@popciclecold (35485)
• United States
25 Nov 22
Never heard of before.
2 people like this
popciclecold
@popciclecold (35485)
• United States
26 Nov 22
@JudyEv Lol.
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (326222)
• Rockingham, Australia
26 Nov 22
Fair enough.
2 people like this
Ptrikha_2
@ptrikha_2 (45576)
• India
8 Dec 22
The picture above shows things being kept and preserved in a nice way. I do remember using the Ink Pens and the occasional blotting of the paper in my School Notebooks ( We just called them copies back in 80s and 90s). Now kids use Gel Pens and I prefer Ball Pens. Refills are available for Ball Pens but the trend is mostly of use and throw.
1 person likes this
Ptrikha_2
@ptrikha_2 (45576)
• India
8 Dec 22
@JudyEv We had a Pen named as "Pilot" Pens. For many years, I used to think that they are a. kind of pens. Later on, I came to know that they were a kind of gel pens and "Pilot" was just a brand name.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (326222)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Dec 22
Mostly we use what we call biros which used to be a brand name but then became a generic term.
1 person likes this
rebelann1949
@rebelann (111290)
• El Paso, Texas
26 Nov 22
I have seen the pens but never a copybook have you taken any shots of one?
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (326222)
• Rockingham, Australia
26 Nov 22
I can't find a photo of one. Each page was lined. The top line might have a row of 'A's on it; the second line might have dotted letters so you copied over the dots and you had to write As on the rest of the lines.
2 people like this
OceanTiara
@RebeccasFarm (86846)
• United States
26 Nov 22
I am again myself, but I remember copy books Judy.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (326222)
• Rockingham, Australia
26 Nov 22
They've gone out of fashion now.
1 person likes this
DW Davis
@DWDavis (25812)
• Pikeville, North Carolina
18 Dec 22
I love learning the history of such idiomatic expressions as "don't blot your copybook."
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (326222)
• Rockingham, Australia
18 Dec 22
Some such sayings do have a fascinating history.
1 person likes this
RasmaSandra
@RasmaSandra (73777)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
26 Nov 22
By the time I got to school, there were pens and notebooks to use, but all the desks still had those holes for ink bottles,
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (326222)
• Rockingham, Australia
26 Nov 22
There used to be an 'ink monitor' whose job it was to fill the inkwells.
2 people like this
M Cheung
@Beestring (13395)
• Hong Kong
26 Nov 22
Yes, I remember copy books. I've used them before.
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (326222)
• Rockingham, Australia
26 Nov 22
They weren't using them any more when I started school.
2 people like this