a wordflapper
also: pointer · flipper
Cook's name for the wing tip: the pointed third segment, the one that carried the flight feathers. Skin and cartilage over two thin bones. It is the piece that gets thrown in the stock bucket, which is why most people who eat wings weekly have never heard the word.
Root. flap (verb) + -er, the agent suffix — the part that does the flapping; pointer is built the same way off point
Two agent nouns for one piece, each naming a different property: flapper names what it did on the bird, pointer names its shape on the plate. Wikipedia's Buffalo wing article lists them together, "flapper or pointer". Inference — nobody arbitrates between them because the piece is rarely sold, so neither word has to win. Cited · wp-buffalo-wing
Two agent nouns for one piece, each naming a different property: flapper names what it did on the bird, pointer names its shape on the plate. Wikipedia's Buffalo wing article lists them together, "flapper or pointer". Inference — nobody arbitrates between them because the piece is rarely sold, so neither word has to win. Cited · wp-buffalo-wing
How it is done Tradition
Said in a kitchen, not at a table. A cook breaking cases says flapper; the same cook writes 'tips' on the stock log.
The particulars
| part of speech | noun |
|---|---|
| region | The United States |
| confidence | medium · updated 2026-09-16 |
Who it runs with
wordswing tipThe same piece under the butcher's name, and the one a label prints.and of this page it says: The same piece under the name a kitchen uses for it.wordswingIts third segment, counted by anatomy and not by the menu.wordsflatThe piece it hangs off until the first cut.the kitchenthe wing cutThe cut that decides whether this word ever gets said.
Who talks about it
organizations · on this pageNational Chicken CouncilExplains where the third joint goes: exported, mostly to Asia, while the drumette and flat stay home.organizations · on this pageU.S. Poultry & Egg AssociationThe piece the processing line sends abroad, decided upstream of any kitchen.stories · on this pageThe flat and the drumWhat the tip is called when a counter keeps it on the flat and sells it attached.
Where we got it
Where it came from: Cited a source we name · Harvested pulled from an open dataset · Tradition what the tradition says, hedged · Inference this project's reasoning · Field somebody stood there. This record as JSON.