Splayd

{{Short description|Combination spoon, knife and fork utensil}}

File:Splayds.jpg

File:Splayd with a pie.jpg

A splayd is an eating utensil which combines the functions of a spoon, knife and fork. It was invented by William McArthur in the 1940s in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.{{cite web |last1=Mackenzie |first1=Michael |date=2013-04-20 |title=Splayds - our national shame |url=https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/archived/rnfirstbite/splayds---our-national-shame/4634516 |access-date=24 October 2018 |website=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}} There are several manufacturers.

In addition to an overall spoon shape with four fork tines, it has two hard, flat edges on either side, suitable for cutting through soft food. They often have a geometric rather than rounded bowl, with two longitudinal folds in the metal.

The UK licensee for the manufacturing and distribution of splayds during the 1970s was Viners of Sheffield. At that time they were one of the biggest cutlery manufacturers in Great Britain.{{cite book |last=Tweedale |first=G. |title=The Sheffield Knife Book |publisher=Sheffield Hallamshire Press |year=1996 |isbn=9781874718116}}

The splayd has medical uses, having been recommended as a solution for feeding difficulties following or during treatment of the arm{{Cite book |last=Penrose |first=Dina |url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-1-4899-3085-9 |title=Occupational Therapy for Orthopaedic Conditions |date=1993 |isbn=978-0-412-39370-9 |series=Therapy in Practice |language=en-gb |doi=10.1007/978-1-4899-3085-9 |s2cid=37256600}} and being part of the (discontinued) Selectagrip system of utensils with customisable handles for people who have trouble using regular utensils.{{Cite journal |last1=Taylor-Cookson |first1=Judith |last2=Mitchell |first2=Justine |date=November 2001 |title=Cutlery for children with special needs |url=http://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/10.12968/bjtr.2001.8.11.13814 |journal=British Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation |volume=8 |issue=11 |pages=426–430 |doi=10.12968/bjtr.2001.8.11.13814 |issn=1354-8581}}{{Cite web |title=Selectagrip Cutlery And Handles |url=https://abledata.acl.gov/product/selectagrip-cutlery-and-handles |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727135343/https://abledata.acl.gov/product/selectagrip-cutlery-and-handles |archive-date=2020-07-27 |access-date=2020-07-27 |website=AbleData}} It was also reportedly a popular wedding gift in Australia in the 1950s and 1960s.{{Cite journal |last=Iomaire |first=Máirtín Mac Con |date=2014-07-03 |title=Material Culture: A Review of the 2013 Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/15428052.2014.904835 |journal=Journal of Culinary Science & Technology |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=191–195 |doi=10.1080/15428052.2014.904835 |issn=1542-8052 |s2cid=216140555}}