Tuesday, October 28, 2014
"Bedspread" vs. "Comforter"
Making the bed the other day, I wondered again what to call the thing on top. I asked Connie. She thought either word would do. My dictionaries tell me that the kind of distinction I was reaching for may actually exist, the cloth covering for a bed being adequately called a "bedspread," whereas the layered pieces of cloth with some kind of filling, like down, in between is apparently more accurately called a "comforter," which sounds reasonable to me.
I guess either item could have a decorative as well as protective function for the bedclothes beneath, and that's OK with me. But I guess too I've always felt I'm doing something a bit more for the bed (and possibly the inhabitants of said bed) with the "comforter" we have than if it were a "bedspread."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
As I look back through the cobwebs of a dismal childhood, we were taught that a bedspread meant you folded the top down in order to place the pillows in a row, then flipping the top of the bedspread over, covering the pillows. A comforter was more of a casual topper for a bed, wherein the comforter would cover the bed, and then the pillows were placed on top, perhaps adding throw pillows to create a façade of some elegance. in my mind I see it as a Bedspread is royal, rigid and unyielding, whereas a comforter is like a good book on a Saturday evening, a cup of good soup and even a sloppy yet loving dog or cat sprawled out near your feet.
ReplyDelete