Biro

[nq:1]When I was young, I remember that a ballpoint pen was usually referred to as a "biro" (after its Hungarian inventor, László Biró). It seems to me that I rarely, if ever, hear this usage anymore.[/nq]
Biro was common British usage in the 1950s
and was the brand name of (one of) the first
ballpoint pens then marketed in Britain. It cost about a pound, then the price of 100 cigarett

[nq:1]When I was young, I remember that a ballpoint pen was usually referred to as a "biro" (after its Hungarian inventor, László Biró). It seems to me that I rarely, if ever, hear this usage anymore.[/nq]
There are biroid life-forms in HHGttG.
David

[nq:2]When I was young, I remember that a ballpoint pen ... me that I rarely, if ever, hear this usage anymore.[/nq]
[nq:1]Biro was common British usage in the 1950s and was the brand name of (one of) the first ballpoint pens ... then the price of 100 cigarettes. The name was never adopted in the USA. (Beware using "anymore" for any more.)[/nq]
Huh? Good advice in general, I suppose:
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[nq:1]When I was young, I remember that a ballpoint pen was usually referred to as a "biro" (after its Hungarian inventor, László Biró). It seems to me that I rarely, if ever, hear this usage anymore.[/nq]
Is Biró a particularly common name in Hungary? I once briefly worked with an elderly Hungarian chap called Frank Biró - never got around to asking him if he was related to the ball-point pen

[nq:2]When I was young, I remember that a ballpoint pen ... me that I rarely, if ever, hear this usage anymore.[/nq]
[nq:1]There are biroid life-forms in HHGttG.[/nq]
I understand that H2G2 is the Totally-Official abbreviation. And don't give too much away about this week's installment - I don't listen to it until it goes online after the Thursday night repeat.

[nq:1]When I was young, I remember that a ballpoint pen was usually referred to as a "biro" (after its Hungarian inventor, László Biró). It seems to me that I rarely, if ever, hear this usage anymore. Comments?[/nq]
I recently used the novel 'What a Carve up' by Jonathon Coe (published in the US as something like 'The Winslow family') as a set book with a group of Spanish and Italian students.

[nq:1]Biro was common British usage in the 1950s and was the brand name of (one of) the first ballpoint pens then marketed in Britain. It cost about a pound, then the price of 100 cigarettes...[/nq]
I recall a schoolmate having a Biro around 1949 - 1951. He told us that if the ink ran out within a year (or perhaps it was longer), you could get a free or much less expensive replacement. When th

[nq:1]For that matter, I was taught in school French that asking for 'un bic' was a dead cool way to request a biro in French. I tried it once, in a cafe in Nantes, and got a totally blank reaction.[/nq]
I've certainly heard "un bic" many times - maybe even in Nantes, which is the last place that I stayed in France. It may be that French usage parallels the English. At one time, if you asked f

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[nq:2]For that matter, I was taught in school French that ... a cafe in Nantes, and got a totally blank reaction.[/nq]
[nq:1]I've certainly heard "un bic" many times - maybe even in Nantes, which is the last place that I stayed ... exactly what you'd expect. Presumably "un stylo" elicited the required implement? If not, then perhaps your pronunciation was at fault.[/nq]
So I asked for a st