A Gentleman's English Dictionary and Usage
Stanley knife
The 'Stanley' knife, known to Americans as the more prosaic 'Box Cutter', has become favoured for it's ability to cause horrific looking injuries and unpleasant scarring with little or no possibility of actual death.
Oh I get it.
In general, these box cutters are manufactured by the STANLEY TOOL COMPANY and have "stanley" stamped on the side. Hence, they are called a stanley knife.
But what about all those screw drivers and plyers and measuring tapes out there that are also made by stanley? Do they also call those stanley screw drivers, stanley plyers, and stanley tapes?
