orange stick

American  

noun

1. a slender, rounded stick, originally of orangewood, having tapered ends and used in manicuring, especially to push back the cuticles or clean the fingernails.

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orange stick British  

noun

1. a small stick used to clean the fingernails and cuticles, having one pointed and one rounded end

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Etymology

Origin of orange stick

An Americanism dating back to 1910–15

Example Sentences

“When I didn’t want to be noticed, I would use my orange stick with black tape on it,” Cordingley said, “ … versus a rainbow stick with the trans tape color pattern on it.”

From Seattle Times

After taking everything off, the gel polish should be soft enough to scrape off with an orange stick — or, if you must, a metal scraping tool.

From Los Angeles Times

"I must get a new orange stick," said Melita.

From Time Magazine Archive

I watched the manicurist drop the orange stick to pick up the emery board, and so on, grudging the seconds wasted, when suddenly it occurred to me that the different tools might be at tached to various fingers.

From Time Magazine Archive

A small, blunt, wooden tool,—even a clean orange stick will do—should be used to make the depressions that are the veins.

From Project Gutenberg