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Kurt Littlewood
Kurt Littlewood
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In general upholstery usage, the squab is athe thickly padded cushion of a chair or sofa one sits upon, contacting the thighs and buttocks, especially a cushion for two or more to sit upon. This includes the lower portion of a bench if that lower portion is thickly padded. 

In North America and Europe, the same usage is maintainedSquab in Vehicles is the automotive industrylower seat portion. In England, the same applies in home and hospitality usage, but

The exception is reversedEngland for automotive usage. In England during the middle and late twentieth century 1900s. In that context, squab in automotive usage, refers to the backrest portion of the chair or backrest portion of a bench, or side supports one may lean uponagainst. As In England moves into the 21st centurytoday, some still call the automobile backrest cushion a squab while most now callif the seat bottom cushion a squab. This leads to a lot of confusion and some incorrectly ordered carconversation is about antique cars or purchasing parts in England. Notice Oxford Dictionary Online defines an automobilefor them, squab explicitly asrefers to the backrest portion cushion; it then cites three usage examples which, all three. If the conversation is about modern cars or their parts, unmistakably refersquab refers to the SEAT BOTTOMseat bottom portion! An absolute contradiction! I am reminded of an English piece of literature "Alice Through the looking Glass". I was taught upholstery by an English craftsman who was very stiff about correct word usageIf clarity is desired, the term squab is avoided.

  • Eg. archaic; for old Austin mini parts www.7ent.com uses squab for the back.

    Eg. modern; Oxford Dictionary Online (ODO) uses squab for the seat bottom in three examples of modern usage.

    Eg. Clarity; MINI Market-UK.com avoids any reference to a squab

    Eg. Confusion; Oxford Dictionary Online gives the definition as the padded back of a vehicle seat, then gives three examples referring to the SEAT BOTTOM portion. An internal contradiction! Note: the three examples are recent sentences in the context of modern automoboiles.

In general upholstery usage, the squab is a thickly padded cushion one sits upon, contacting the thighs and buttocks, especially a cushion for two or more to sit upon. This includes the lower portion of a bench if that lower portion is thickly padded. In North America, the same usage is maintained in the automotive industry. In England, the same applies in home and hospitality usage, but is reversed for automotive usage. In England during the middle and late twentieth century , squab in automotive usage, refers to the backrest portion of the chair or backrest portion of a bench, or side supports one may lean upon. As England moves into the 21st century, some still call the automobile backrest cushion a squab while most now call the seat bottom cushion a squab. This leads to a lot of confusion and some incorrectly ordered car parts in England. Notice Oxford Dictionary Online defines an automobile squab explicitly as the backrest portion cushion; it then cites three usage examples which, all three, unmistakably refer to the SEAT BOTTOM portion! An absolute contradiction! I am reminded of an English piece of literature "Alice Through the looking Glass". I was taught upholstery by an English craftsman who was very stiff about correct word usage.

In general upholstery usage, the squab is the thickly padded cushion of a chair or sofa one sits upon, contacting the thighs and buttocks. 

In North America and Europe, Squab in Vehicles is the lower seat portion.

The exception is England for automotive usage during the 1900s. In that context, squab refers to the backrest portion of the chair or side supports one may lean against. In England today, if the conversation is about antique cars or purchasing parts for them, squab refers to the backrest. If the conversation is about modern cars or their parts, squab refers to the seat bottom portion. If clarity is desired, the term squab is avoided.

  • Eg. archaic; for old Austin mini parts www.7ent.com uses squab for the back.

    Eg. modern; Oxford Dictionary Online (ODO) uses squab for the seat bottom in three examples of modern usage.

    Eg. Clarity; MINI Market-UK.com avoids any reference to a squab

    Eg. Confusion; Oxford Dictionary Online gives the definition as the padded back of a vehicle seat, then gives three examples referring to the SEAT BOTTOM portion. An internal contradiction! Note: the three examples are recent sentences in the context of modern automoboiles.

Source Link
Kurt Littlewood
Kurt Littlewood
  • 41
  • 1
  • 2

In general upholstery usage, the squab is a thickly padded cushion one sits upon, contacting the thighs and buttocks, especially a cushion for two or more to sit upon. This includes the lower portion of a bench if that lower portion is thickly padded. In North America, the same usage is maintained in the automotive industry. In England, the same applies in home and hospitality usage, but is reversed for automotive usage. In England during the middle and late twentieth century , squab in automotive usage, refers to the backrest portion of the chair or backrest portion of a bench, or side supports one may lean upon. As England moves into the 21st century, some still call the automobile backrest cushion a squab while most now call the seat bottom cushion a squab. This leads to a lot of confusion and some incorrectly ordered car parts in England. Notice Oxford Dictionary Online defines an automobile squab explicitly as the backrest portion cushion; it then cites three usage examples which, all three, unmistakably refer to the SEAT BOTTOM portion! An absolute contradiction! I am reminded of an English piece of literature "Alice Through the looking Glass". I was taught upholstery by an English craftsman who was very stiff about correct word usage.