because i really do care about semantics i needed to be certain about what the world calls the kitchen utensil pictured above [thought not heart shaped ones in particular, i just liked the picture].
being the very learned reference librarian that i aspire to be one day, i went onto google images and did a couple of searches using different search terms.
the kitchen untensil under scrutiny is often referred to as some sort of flipper or turner – be it kitchem egg, pancake, or just straight flipper/turner. however it is most commonly referred to as a spatula.
but the problem I have with it just being a spatula [Latin, flat piece of wood, splint, diminutive of spatha, broadsword] is that the spatula family is quite extensive. different spatuli are used on different occasions, so you need to be really sure which item you are referring to when you ask your cooking assistant to pass the spatula.
so, in my own small attempt to make the world less complicated, i am asking that all english speakers refer to the above kitchen utensil as a ‘flipper’. a ‘metal flipper’ if it is metal or a ‘nylon flipper’ if it is nylon.
