Paillon vs. pallion

Jewelry Discussion
1

I don’t want to be too much of a nit-picker, but I think bits of cut
solder are “paillons” [the “s” is an Englishism], not “pallions,” as
I have seen it spelled recently in more than one book. My old French
dictionary defines “paillon” as, among other things, “wisp of straw,
bit of solder.” Oppi Untracht (p. 395) notes that “paillons” comes
from French paille, “spangle”).

All the best,
Judy Bjorkman

2

You are right, Judy…they are paillons. And as long as we’re
picking nits, here are a few other common misspellings that
frequently appear in Orchid posts:

Hobbiest.........should be Hobbyist
gold bouillon..........should be bullion.
bouillon is broth.
guilding............should be gilding.

Next violator will be sentenced to fifty lashes with a wet noodle.
Now back to the jeweler’s bench.

Dee

3

Thanks, Dee, for your observations! I would like to know, how does
one PRONOUNCE “paillions”? Is it (approximately) “pay-onz” (the
fading French “n” reappearing under the influence of the English
"s")? Or what?

–Judy Bjorkman (who just got back from 2 1/2 weeks of welcome
sunshine in southern CA and NM, to the rains of upstate NY)

4 
   I would like to know, how does one PRONOUNCE "paillions"?  Is it
(approximately) "pay-onz" (the fading French "n" reappearing under
the influence of the English "s")?  Or what?

Technically,in English it’s pronounced PIE-ONZ… but if you
ask for them that way, half the time you’ll get a “Huh?” response,
and have to say…“you know, those little solder chips???” To which
they say… “Oh, you mean PALLIONS” (No, I don’t mean pallion that
rhymes with stallion…I mean paillon that rhymes with try-on…but
go explain that to people who still insist on pronouncing nuclear
‘NEW-kew --ler’ instead of ‘NEW-clear’… One can’t expect someone
with a tin ear to carry a tune, so if you meet with disbelief just
throw up your hands and say,“Whatever”… and let it go.

Dee

5 
I would like to know, how does one PRONOUNCE "paillions"?

While being familiar with the classic terminology, I avoid the
problem altogether by calling them “snippets.” :slight_smile:

All the best,

Dave Sebaste
Sebaste Studio
Charlotte, NC (USA)