Ontario, Calif.

THE INTRICACIES OF English vernacular are, at once, lauded and lamented. American colloquialisms have been known to trip up (often humorously) those who can’t quite navigate their ins and outs. Others, however, delight in the many turns of phrase at their disposal. Take, for instance, the cache of expressions coined to describe what one can do with a hat: keep things under it, throw it in the ring, wear more than one, and so on. And each token saying refers to a different, and markedly non-hat-related, activity. When literally dealing with the item at hand, a similar number of possibilities abound. With countless fabrics,

STAPLE OF moms and grandmothers everywhere, “Better safe than sorry,” has proven its worth a million times over. It’s self-explanatory—no one’s more sorry than the guy who skipped the precautionary measures. Because, in that context, it usually implies being burnt to a crisp, poked with something sharp or losing an arm /finger/insert appendage here. The adage also rings true when considering the sale of safety items as promotional products. The stakes are understandably higher than those of other categories, and goods that don’t live up to expectations mean customers end up on the wrong side of a close call. On the other hand,