Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

French Antique Guessing Game…What the Heck is It?

Guessing game

First I am sorry I am late posting, the day got ahead of me. Too many irons in the fire, but here I am ready to post… a Guessing Game! Yippy!

Every now and again I see an item at the brocantes (antique market) that stumps me. When this happens I ask the dealer if I can take a photo of it to show you, my lucky, bright, clever readers, to see if I can stump you too. Isn't that thoughtful of me to want to see if I can stump you?

I have had several of these guessing games and each and every time someone has guessed the item I have shown. There have been some doozies, French antique things I thought nobody would figure out. Though readers of Tongue in Cheek are very cheeky, clever and leave comments that I swear people come to read instead of my blog 🙂 !!

My goal is to stump the Tongue in Cheek Flock before the end of the year…. I hope I can do it today.

Here are a few of the Guessing Game things I have listed before:

Fly catcher

Fly catchers

Clasp-key

This looks like a key and it is a key. Though it is the clasp to a Limoges box. It is the size of a bean.
Can you believe someone guessed it too!!

French brocante item 2

A rosary and relic container.

Doggy bag

A doggy bag.

silver ice cream knife

A knife to slice ice cream. Who wants a scooper after seeing this?

silver fois gras serving pieces

Serving pieces for Fois Gras.


silver knife holder for a buffet

A Knife rest for a buffet table.

SPILLING-DICE

Mini die used for a champagne ad campaign back in the 1900s.

french country

A chimney runner to prevent smoke from coming into the home.

French

The cork top for a wine bottle.

French antique

A champagne glass holder.

If you want to see more of the guessing game items look over on the right in the side bar of this blog and you will see the entire list under Guessing Games and Giveaways, plus the results to each.

Anyway… the other day I find another thing that really left me clueless. Are you ready to give it a shot?? Ready to guess?

Here are the rules:

You can guess as many times as you want.

Leave a comment with your guess included.

There will be a prize for the first person to guess it correctly and

Another prize for the most creative answer. 

Guessing Game ends tomorrow at 9 am my time in France.

Guessing game 

What is it?

Guessing game? 

This French Antique is made of hardwood. The bottom part is covered in metal. It isn't very thick, almost paper thin…

Guessing item 

…and nearly a yard long.

Do you know what it is?

Leave a comment with your guess (es) or creative response. I'll give clues throughout the day if the answer is not revealed in the comments.

Comments

98 responses to “French Antique Guessing Game…What the Heck is It?”

  1. HecatesMoon

    A tongue depresser (however it’s spelled)

    Reply
  2. Christy

    a tool used to scrape snails for escargot off of plants and the earth. it’s long so you don’t ‘scare’ them away 😉

    Reply
  3. Gracie

    A butter (or fois gras) knife.

    Reply
  4. Kristy

    It looks a little like a letter opener or maybe an icing knife for french fancies?!
    Being made from wood though and looking so smooth it could be for smacking cheeky bottoms with. Oh la la!!!

    Reply
  5. dana

    a shoe horn, to help put on those delicate shoes of the 17C. you know the silken ones or the narrow boots that button up. gorgeous but i can even imagine wearing them.
    *

    Reply
  6. Merisi

    Is this a tool to brush crumbs off a table?
    (Sorry for my impatience,
    I shall try to be less so! *smile)

    Reply
  7. Melanie

    No idea, but its very pretty!

    Reply
  8. bev

    Is it used to smooth sheets or linens?
    Bev

    Reply
  9. Kristin

    hmmmm….. a yard long? That is what stumped me… I thought for sure a letter opener, but 3 feet long? Something possibly to do with laundry? folding it or something? I have no idea!

    Reply
  10. Cy

    I think it’s a pizza paddle, you know, to remove a pizza from a hot oven! It must be, since it’s so long! 🙂

    Reply
  11. Laura

    Wow. This is hard!
    A crepe flipper? For enormous crepes…

    Reply
  12. kelleyn

    I think it is a knife to decorate cakes.

    Reply
  13. Julie

    Is it a ‘doovie whackie’ for pressing the wool down between rows when weaving rugs?

    Reply
  14. AmandaMay

    Scandinavians have a similar piece used for making lefse, kind of like a Nordic crepe. Is it for flipping crepes?
    (oops, I see someone else had the same thought)

    Reply
  15. rita

    a card flipper-over for a gaming table?
    a love note door shove-er under?
    a hat lifter-upper in a display shop?
    a gentle shoulder tapper for next communion row?
    an elegant fly swatter?
    a bathroom door latch open-upper?
    a car door lock shimmy-thingy..(oops! wrong century!)

    Reply
  16. Julie Ann Evins

    To remove candle wax from a cloth, to smooth cream or icing, to open oysters or to smack bottoms.
    Jx

    Reply
  17. Mary Ellen

    A “silent butler” to remove crumbs from a table in a fell swoop between courses.

    Reply
  18. Betsy

    a page turner for a book, or used to crease paper…

    Reply
  19. le petit cabinet de curiosites

    I’m very bad with this game , I would say a letters opener or a rasor ???

    Reply
  20. Ed in Willows

    Is it used to remove bread from the oven? Kinda like the ones they use for pizza. Maybe Nuns in France use it to smack the hands of bad children in school.

    Reply
  21. pusa

    is it a nail file?

    Reply
  22. Nancy from Mass

    For slicing really large wedding cakes in one fell swoop?
    For playing practical jokes on people in crowds…you know, tapping on their shoulders and watching them turning around to see who did it?
    A yard long? Oh, wait, is it to make perfect creases when folding sheets? (to smooth the inside fabric so it doesn’t bunch up?)

    Reply
  23. Marilyn

    A pastry spreader to spread the freshly poured batter in the pan. Now with it being a yard long maybe a paint stirrer or to stir a liquid something. Or something to reach with.

    Reply
  24. Mo’a

    A yard long?!!! That is what gave me the clue…it is a paddle to spank naughty little French children. You do have those don’t you? 😕

    Reply
  25. Paula

    I think it is used to slide baked baguettes out of the oven.

    Reply
  26. Alexis Lozano

    a paint ladle or scraper (whatever those are called) for artists, you know, for trasnfering paint onto the mixing board or whatever those are called as well. My brain seems to have forgotten names today!!

    Reply
  27. Ardi

    A container for holding matches with the open/flat part the consistency to strike the match on.

    Reply
  28. Ardi

    Did you mean a foot long? Because sitting as it is against a plate, it doesn’t look like it could be a yard long – unless it folds in on itself.

    Reply
  29. HecatesMoon

    a kettle stirrer thingie?

    Reply
  30. martina

    A crepe turner. Similar items are used to turn/flip lefse (a Norwegian crepee.

    Reply
  31. martina

    Or, a cleaner to clean between shutter slats. To slide drapes or other fabrics that are on a high pole. To stir products at a dairy, like when making cheese or yogurt.

    Reply
  32. Nancy

    The true clue is in the handle itself… it is used to measure the distance you should keep when you find yourself in the presence of the creatures shown on the handle. The ‘safety’ zone is the area of the thin flat end. Once you find the creature is getting as close as the handle with their picture and you are able to discern their menacing facial features, it’s time to drop the measure and start running.

    Reply
  33. Jill

    I really haven’t a clue! I first thought a letter opener, until you said it was wood and paper thin. Then I thought a stick to stir paint, but it’s too long (and too clean). So if it’s really a yard long, my wild guess is a cobweb-remover for high, obscure corners?

    Reply
  34. of jane

    a letter opener…but not just any letter opener…one that opens clandestine love letters…;)))

    Reply
  35. becky up the hill

    Foie gras slicer for Portuguese Hall events :o)!

    Reply
  36. caren

    My daughter said it was a “troll killer”. Sick?

    Reply
  37. marlis

    it measures fabric off the bolt!!!

    Reply
  38. Kathie

    I concur with Merisi and Mary Ellen that it looks like a sweeper to remove crumbs from the table between courses. One sometimes see them used in upscale restaurants (not that I get to patronize them very often!).

    Reply
  39. marlis

    that is if it is actually a yard long.. looks more like a foot…so it would be a dough cutter for the top of french bread?

    Reply
  40. marlis

    so it keeps losing my previous posts.. sorry if you get this 3 times 🙁
    a stick to measure fabric off the bolt….
    if it is indeed a yard long..
    or it could be a slicer for the beautiful cuts in the top of french bread 🙂

    Reply
  41. marlis

    so it keeps losing my previous posts.. sorry if you get this 3 times 🙁
    a stick to measure fabric off the bolt….
    if it is indeed a yard long..
    or it could be a slicer for the beautiful cuts in the top of french bread 🙂
    or it is exactly what i think it is, it is to remove the crumbs from the table between courses…

    Reply
  42. Kimberly C.

    I think people are forgetting this is a yard long! ha! I have no idea, but the only guesses that seem plausible to me are a tool to measure yards of fabric, or a tool to smooth sheets when making the perfect bed.
    Excellent choice for a guessing game.

    Reply
  43. Deb

    A sheet warmer?

    Reply
  44. Deb

    A caviar server?

    Reply
  45. Chris

    something to stir a boiling pot for laundry?

    Reply
  46. Lana

    I was going to guess a fancy tongue depressor, till I read it was nearly a yard long….
    hmmm… let me think some more….
    Have a lovely day Corey!

    Reply
  47. Chris

    a tool used to measure the depth of holes when planting seeds or a tool used to measure the distance between plantings.

    Reply
  48. Chris

    a folding ruler; the wood is so thin that it fits inside of the beautiful handle

    Reply
  49. Erin Perry

    A shoe-horn for people with short arms and square heels?
    Erin in Morro Bay

    Reply
  50. Elaine L.

    Your readers clever answers never cease to amaze me. You’re right I love to read the comments.
    ~elaine~

    Reply
  51. Monica Conner

    Perhaps a tool used to fold the corners on table cloths.

    Reply
  52. Marilyn

    Hmmm..how about an instrument that makes pleats, or helps you iron pleats.
    or
    an implement to remove crumbs from between kitchen cupboards
    or
    an instrument to churn butter or, stir cream or cheese
    or
    a yarn winder
    This is fun. I can’t wait to see the real answer.
    Marilyn (in Dallas)

    Reply
  53. Roxane Stoner

    I will go for a Crepe Turner too.

    Reply
  54. Isa

    Well, of course, it’s the famous last crumb scooper. You know the one – the one that allows you to be an honored member of the clean plate committee. It’s thin enough, and because the end is wood, flexible enough, to get underneath the most elusive last delicious crumbs on your plate. With a small knudge of your knife, while pressing the crumb scooper underneath, you are sure to be a proud card carrying member of the clean plate committee at each meal.
    It’s true.
    xo Isa
    haha

    Reply
  55. Mary Kate

    it must be a crumb sweeper for a really big antique refectory table. the kind of table that could sit 40 people!

    Reply
  56. VA

    1 yard / paper thin
    To lightly tap little hands away from tasty cookie dishes.

    Reply
  57. Lynn King

    Making your comfort food for supper (as we say here in the South) tonight, tho I wish I was having it in your garden! Great memory! Anyway, is it a page turner for the newspaper?

    Reply
  58. Mahala

    I thought of a letter opener as well, or something to do with reading material, like a page turner or HUGE bookmark.

    Reply
  59. Lorelei

    I wonder if it’s used to put bagettes in and out of the oven…. or a spatula for icing beautiful big cakes.

    Reply
  60. Mahala

    A person now might open a locked door using a credit card, well a person from long ago would use this tool since it’s paper thin…a burglars tool.

    Reply
  61. Ren in Az

    I have no clue as to the true use of this object. It is pretty though so, my guess would be since there are dragons on the handle, it is a pet dragon’s tongue scraper to get the char off when they breathe fire too long!

    Reply
  62. Joan@anythinggoeshere

    A bed linen smoother. That is my guess.

    Reply
  63. Tammy

    I think it is a letter opener that some love goddess uses to open love letters from her Romeo…and she is divinely so much in love that she uses it to hold all the letters together in a pile after she reads each one….ok maybe not…but it sounds good
    hugs and love

    Reply
  64. marlis

    is it used on a gaming table? to retreive lost chips (if you are the croupier)
    is it a shoe horn?
    is it a server for petit fours?

    Reply
  65. Laura

    a shoe horn?

    Reply
  66. Janet

    Used to fold and crease newspapers in hotels and in the days when old, large households had staff.

    Reply
  67. Sylvia

    I think it is a utensil to remove bread from the baking oven.

    Reply
  68. Kay Walker

    A putty knife used when setting tiles.

    Reply
  69. Nicole

    When i was about 13 we learnd at school how to iron towels and bedsheets tablelinen etc.. We used a wooden “instrument” like this one to make the perfect ply when folding tabelclots and bedsheets. Maybe your tool is a sofisticated tool from a rich family???

    Reply
  70. Kathie

    Oops! I didn’t see the part where Corey said it was nearly a yard long, so I change my vote to bed-linen smoother, as someone else posited already.

    Reply
  71. Julie M.

    Clearly, it is a javelin for slaying dragons. Duh! But instead of killing that last dragon, the slayer missed, the dragon sat on the weapon AND his foe…flattening both…thus forming the perfect butter knife and dragon slayer scraper.
    : )
    Julie M.

    Reply
  72. kenny p

    I’m guessing with the decorative handle for show, and a thin rounded blade..a page turner for those old large delicate French books . Maybe used in a church?
    If not .. I’ll go with a hiney paddle for naughty little french children..

    Reply
  73. Kel

    I want to guess tounge depressor too and it’s long so the house doctor would not catch any germs!

    Reply
  74. Karin

    It looks to be a page turner. It is beautiful. Imagine reading the newspaper and turning the pages with one so as not to get your hands dirty. Practical and pretty. 🙂

    Reply
  75. Claire

    shoe scraper! there must have been horse dung all over the place years ago – and what lady would enter a house with improperly cleaned shoe soles?

    Reply
  76. marlis

    one could use this to call the garcon or mam’selle when sitting elegantly clothed at a quaint cafe along the rue st. honore in Paris..

    Reply
  77. marlis

    or…. it could be an elegant swatter to swat the hands of those that are taking the last of the great bargains at printemps..or les galeries lafayette

    Reply
  78. Laure

    It’s a toenail file for dragons and griffins!!!

    Reply
  79. Kay

    It was used in the Opera House to direct music – when the arias filled the house the flat wand would also be raised to almost touch the ceiling.

    Reply
  80. Penny

    A boot horn – much like a shoe horn – used to help mademoiselle slip a riding boot over her delicately turned ankle.

    Reply
  81. Kristy

    Corey, Before I guess, I want to say I have really enjoyed catching glimpses of you lately (I mean in photos, no I am not a stalker!!!) It is so nice to see the beautiful person behind the beautiful posts!
    Okay, for my guess: It is used to pry away the stuff stuck inside a pot, so you can pop the stuff (like a cake!) out easily. Kindof like clearing away the stuck crust from a pie. But these would be very big cakes! Can’t wait for the answer!

    Reply
  82. Bramble

    Okay here are the guesses from my house:
    Not French Husband says:”Something to discipline unruly children!”
    Hairy Teenage Son says: Pie hole “poker”
    Me: I say mayonaise spreader…maybe!

    Reply
  83. Kate

    If it was a FOOT long, my guess would have been that’s it’s for flipping crepes on the frying pan. There is a similar tool, made of wood, for turning Scandiavian lefse.

    Reply
  84. Sally

    I’m so confused since you said nearly a yard long – I’m guessing you may have meant a foot long since it appears to be next to a plate or bowl on the table???
    I’m so loving everyone’s creative answers – love your guessing games Corey! Woe is me, all of my first guesses have all been taken – butter knife (some kind of spreader), letter opener, crumb sweeper. Love the tongue depressor idea, sounds like a winner.
    It looks very much like a putty knife, I’m sure someone else has made note of that already too.
    We went to a lovely French restaurant last year and they gave us a sauce spoon, to get every last drop off your plate – I don’t think this is an early version (since it doesn’t look like you could move it across your plate at the length it is) but I’ll throw it out there on the off chance.

    Reply
  85. Ann

    Looks like a cheese slicer. If it isn’t, that’s what I’d use it for being that I can’t go one day without a slice of cheese.

    Reply
  86. christine allen

    It is to take bread out of oven?

    Reply
  87. Star

    eclair peel for retrieving individual sweets from the hot oven? 🙂

    Reply
  88. Hasmin Cannon

    Corey, here’s my crazy guess…
    the thin wood part is inserted in the back of one’s trousers and the decorative metal part acts as a guide to “sit up straight.”

    Reply
  89. Joann Burnham

    I think it was used to lift delicate linens or lace from their bath.

    Reply
  90. Diogenes

    Well, this one really stumped me. I had to call in reinforcements and they were also stumped..
    Is this an emory board?

    Reply
  91. Carol

    Is it for opening curtains?

    Reply
  92. anna

    Corey,
    I am guessing that it is used to help in the folding of sheets or linen smoother. It could also be a shoe horn. What a fun game Corey…
    Regards,
    Anna

    Reply
  93. Catalina

    🙂
    to make “crêpes” !!!! 🙂 the old version
    or just something to unfold life?
    XOXO
    (love these games!)

    Reply
  94. Folade

    It’s a bottom/backside swatter.

    Reply
  95. Martha

    I think it is a page turner.

    Reply
  96. Christy

    a page turner for a lovely, leather bound book!

    Reply
  97. Marie-Noëlle

    I first thought about a paper knife – or letter opener… but one yard long would mean gigantic letters …. hmmm …
    Then I thought about a butter pat… but the metal part made me ponder too much over this option…
    Then I thought about a toy sword… ??? …
    My last idea was a spatula … but I needed to specify what kind… hmmm there is a wide range… Would it be a serving spatula? a bread spatula? a pizza spatula? a pastry spatula? Knowing TICA’s taste for deviating objects and especially knowing her latest concern, I would add an old PAINTING spatula…
    I know my last guess is NOT the one but it suits you anyway !!!
    Good luck to all your readers !!!

    Reply
  98. Ellen Cassilly

    Crumb sweeper for a large table.
    Frank got 229 hits on his blog yesterday. E

    Reply

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