Years ago, I read an article about the composer George M. Cohan. It mentioned that he wrote all his songs “on foolscap paper with a pencil.” I had a general idea what he meant, figuring okay, foolscap is probably inexpensive paper, and that’s as far as it went. Anyway, as I was going through the word list, I found the word “foolscap,” and decided to find out for certain what it was.
Anyway, The Blogger’s Best Friend ™ tells us that foolscap is paper that’s 8 ½” x 13 ½”. It got its name because of the watermark that was placed on (in?) the paper that looked like a fool’s cap and bells.
This is roughly the size of a sheet from a US legal pad, which is 8 ½” x 14″. So Cohan probably used a legal pad.
Except for the US, Canada, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic, the rest of the world has moved on and now uses the ISO 216 standard sizes for paper. The most common size is A4, 210 mm x 297 mm, or roughly 8.3″ x 11.7″. Foolscap is sometimes referred to as F4 paper, but that’s not an official standard.
Like I always say, the things you learn in this job…
Foolscap paper was a very familiar term for the standard folio paper size in the Imperial measure during my British upbringing. The transition to metric measure took place over a few years so we had to learn both systems as children in my generation and many people still use Imperial measurements and maybe both. I’d never known or maybe didn’t remember the watermark issue though. i think we were told it was called foolscap because it was the standard size paper used by the legal profession.
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The more you know, right? 🙂 I’ve worked in printing and pressrooms (in the US) for a long time and hadn’t heard that. I wonder what would happen if we decided to go to A4 here? Riots and mass hysteria, I imagine. 😉
Jamie Lyn Weigt | Theme: Odds and Ends Dragons | Writing Dragons
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I prefer foolscap to all those other terms for paper. It’s a great word.
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I did not expect this word to be related to paper. I learned something new again
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The things you learn in this job…
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John,
I never heard legal paper called this before so it was an interesting tidbit to learn. You’re always sure to make me just a wee bit smarter every day I spend company with you. Happy A2Zing and have a good weekend!
Curious as a Cathy
A2Z Creating iPad Art Sketches ‘Fairy’
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I don’t hear about it very much anymore. Europe has gone to the ISO 216 A, B, C standards for paper sizes (A4 is the closest to out 8 ½ x 11). All the paper size stuff can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_size. It’s too involved for me to get into…
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I did not know that! Hopefully, this information will come in particularly handy during an upcoming episode of Jeopardy!
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Jeopardy! tends to come back to the same subjects a lot for its questions: Darwin’s “Origins of the Species,” Lesotho, Shakespeare’s plays, etc. Foolscap has been mentioned a few times.
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I’m sorry, but I guess I’m out in left field here somewhere because I never heard of a fool’s cap. I’ve heard of a dunce cap, but I guess that’s no where near what you’re talking about. I will say one thing when you want to know about something you’re all full steam ahead. I like that about you. My dad was just like that and he use to say, “It’s a good thing to learn something new every day”! Oh wait.. now what was that it makes a man… healthy, wealthy and wise?? I think that’s the way it goes! Have a great weekend my friend!
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That’s “Early to bed, early to rise…” by “Poor Richard” himself, Benjamin Franklin. But, close enough…
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I always thought foolscap was like typing paper or tracing paper.
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I think it’s more like newsprint.
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Now that’s such a strange little story. If I had read the term ‘foolscap papaer’ I woudl ahve had no idea what that meant.
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That’s what confused me, too. Like I often say, the things you learn in this job.
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Hi John – it’s interesting how words came about … and the paper I use in England to that I find over here … disconcerting to me!! But I didn’t know about the fool’s cap and bells …. fascinating!! Cheers Hilary
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I’m trying to figure out the whole A1, A2 etc. thing.
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I was always under the impression that foolscap was just the right size to make a conical hat. It was the paper size of my schooldays.
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I re-read the article, which said 8.5×13.5 is “foolscap folio” size, usually shortened to just “foolscap.” The full sheet (also called “foolscap”) is 17×13.5, basically two folio sheets side-by-side. So the answer, I guess, is “yes.” 😉
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunce#Dunce_cap has a picture of what I had in mind.
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