So, if you want to get technical... both Oxford and Merriam-Webster define Jewelry (or Jewellry, as the brits spell it) as made of precious metals and/or jewels/gems, worn for personal adornment.
That means that, technically, a base metal, such as stainless steel is not jewelry, even if it is worn for personal adornment. Further, anything made of plastic worn for a medical purpose is clearly not jewelry (not even metal, much less precious metal), and more likely a prosthesis, which Merriam-Webster defines as "an artificial device to replace or augment a missing or impaired part of the body."
You want to fight back? Call the plastic/glass gauging bit a "prosthesis worn for hygienic purposes." After all, the poor boy has a hole in his lip...
Piercings keep husband of student out of dances
So, if you want to get technical... both Oxford and Merriam-Webster define Jewelry (or Jewellry, as the brits spell it) as made of precious metals and/or jewels/gems, worn for personal adornment.
That means that, technically, a base metal, such as stainless steel is not jewelry, even if it is worn for personal adornment. Further, anything made of plastic worn for a medical purpose is clearly not jewelry (not even metal, much less precious metal), and more likely a prosthesis, which Merriam-Webster defines as "an artificial device to replace or augment a missing or impaired part of the body."
You want to fight back? Call the plastic/glass gauging bit a "prosthesis worn for hygienic purposes." After all, the poor boy has a hole in his lip...
OED: http://www.askoxford.com/results/?vie...
M-W: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio...
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio...
November 17, 2008 at 5:07 a.m. permalink suggest removal