"wanlace" cleared for lift-off

[eLLioTT morEton]

On Mon, 9 Jan 2006, Hutch wrote:

> Fascinating! According to <http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=fob> ...
>
> fob (n.) 1653, "small pocket for valuables," probably related to Low
> Ger. fobke "pocket," High Ger. fuppe "pocket." Meaning "chain attached
> to a watch carried in the fob" is from 1885.
>
> Until this e-mail, I had *only* ever heard it used for the "chain" meaning.

My first encounter with "fob" was in _Gulliver's Travels_, where it is 
used to mean "watch pocket".  I'm surprised to learn that it can mean 
"watch chain"!

em