View source for Gimlet (tool)

{{Short description|Hand tool}}
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A '''gimlet''' is a [[hand tool]] for [[drilling]] small holes, mainly in wood, without splitting. It was defined in [[Joseph Gwilt]]'s ''Architecture'' (1859) as "a piece of steel of a semi-cylindrical form, hollow on one side, having a cross handle at one end and a worm or screw at the other".<ref>[[Joseph Gwilt]] (1859), ''Architecture''</ref>

A gimlet is always a small tool. A similar tool of larger size is called an [[auger (drill)|auger]]. The cutting action of the gimlet is slightly different from an auger and the initial hole it makes is smaller; the cutting edges pare away the wood, which is moved out by the spiral sides, falling out through the entry hole. This also pulls the gimlet further into the hole as it is turned. Unlike a [[bradawl]], pressure is not required once the tip has been drawn in.

The name ''gimlet'' comes from the [[Old French]] {{lang|fro|guinbelet}}, {{lang|fro|guimbelet}}, later {{lang|fro|guibelet}}, probably a diminutive of the [[Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-French]] {{lang|xno|wimble}}, a variation of "guimble", from the Middle Low German {{lang|gml|wiemel}} (cf. the [[Scandinavia]]n {{lang|gmq|wammie}}, 'to bore or twist'). Modern French uses the term {{lang|fr|vrille}}, also the French for "tendril".<ref>''[[OED|Oxford English Dictionary]]'', 2nd. Edition, (1989)</ref>

==Use as a metaphor ==
The term is also used figuratively to describe something as sharp or piercing, along with describing the twisting, boring motion of using a gimlet. For example, the [[Gimlet (cocktail)|gimlet]] cocktail may be named after the tool.<ref name="Etymonline">{{cite web |title=gimlet |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/gimlet |website=www.etymonline.com |access-date=2 September 2023 |language=en |archive-date=14 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230614024747/https://www.etymonline.com/word/gimlet |url-status=live }}</ref> The term ''gimlet-eyed'' can mean sharp-eyed or squint-eyed. One example of this use is [[Smedley Butler|Major General Smedley Darlington Butler]], who was known as "Old Gimlet Eye".

==Further reading==
* Adamson, John, "Gimlets galore!", ''Furniture & Cabinetmaking'', no. 265, Winter 2017, pp.&nbsp;50–3
* [[Ken Hawley|Hawley, Ken]], & Watts, Dennis (2017), ''Gimlet Patterns and Manufacture'' Sheffield: The Hawley Collection Trust Ltd in association with the [[Tools and Trades History Society]] {{ISBN|9780947673253}} {{OCLC|985584991}}

==References==
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{{Woodworking}}
{{Hand tools}}
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[[Category:Woodworking hand tools]]
[[Category:Hole making]]