aglet

Webster 1913 has a definition of aglet but it's a little hard to understand, and unsurprisingly, a little out of date.

Quite simply, aglets are the little plastic things on the ends of your shoelaces (and you thought it was going to be something dirty...) which are very useful for initially lacing up your shoes. I had a pair of 12 hole boots, and it took about half an hour as I had old laces without them.

Duct tape makes quite a good substitute, scotch tape an average one - it'll get you through one lacing, but I suppose that's all you really need.

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'Aglet' is also a useful tool in checking whether you have a good dictionary; see if it's in there.

Well, having tried various methods to use shoelaces lacking in them, i can report that the following methods do not work:

• Nail varnish: merely makes the frayed bits more solid, although this can help when attempting to force them through lace holes.
• Grabbing one of the frayed bits, sticking it through the hole and pulling: unless you have exactly the right kind of shoelaces, this merely unravels them further.
• Sucking them: aside from hygiene concerns, which I gave up on in desperation, this has the same effect as nail varnish except even less useful as the stuff doesn't harden.
• Cutting off the frayed bits: the ends, surprisingly, come apart again in a matter of seconds.

In conclusion: shoelaces cost 50p. Buy some new ones.

Ag"let (#), Aig"let (#), n. [F. aiguillette point, tagged point, dim. of aiguilee needle, fr. LL. acucula for acicula, dim. of L. acus needle, pin: cf. OF. agleter to hook on. See Acute, and cf. Aiguillette.]

1.

A tag of a lace or of the points, braids, or cords formerly used in dress. They were sometimes formed into small images. Hence, "aglet baby" (Shak.), an aglet image.

2. Haberdashery

A round white staylace.

Beck.

 

© Webster 1913.