Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[strielka.]

Dear Teachers,

does 'gringle' mean anything?

thanks in advance

[bud]

I've never heard of it, and I couldn't find anything on the web, either. It appears to be a surname, though.

[asterix]

It may be a variation of cringle. This is an eye of rope containing a thimble for another rope to pass through.
A thimble, in this context, is a metal ring, concave on the outside, that fits inside a loop of spliced rope to prevent chafing.
You find this setup today on some sailboats.

[strielka.]

thanks you both

[Nef]

I'm wondering if you are sure of the spelling. Also, do you remember the context?

[advoca]

There is a Mr Gringle in the story by Enid Blyton called The Famous Five.

He is one of the owners of the Butterfly Farm. Mr Gringle, comes upon their camp while netting butterflies. He's exactly the sort of person you'd expect him to be � eccentric and silly, and is kind of a bad tempered. He starts out friendly enough but turns into a real grump with no clue what's going on under his own nose beyond his precious butterflies.

But Strielka, you should give us the context. Where did you come across the word?

[strielka.]

hi,

I've heard 'gringle' such a one word, without context.
My friends said 'gringle' for a small ball of paper. And I don't know it's mean something or it's only their imagination.

Sorry for late, and thanks you all

[bud]

You can crinkle a piece of paper into a ball. It's very similar in sound - just a "k" sound instead of a "g." I've never heard it used as a noun, but it is certainly possible that someone has.