Episode 210 · August 29, 2026
Living That Table Life
Harper asks why an extendable-table insert is called a 'leaf'. The hosts try tree leaves, paper leaves and bookmarks, and settle on drop-leaf tables that look like leaves when folded.
“We don't talk about the trunk of the table. Not enough, in my opinion.” (05:01)
Questions
Why is the extension piece of a table called a 'leaf'? (00:37)
Our guess
Like a loose leaf of paper or a tree leaf: a detachable piece; around the 16th-17th century in the UK or Europe
Like a loose leaf of paper or a tree leaf: a detachable piece; around the 16th-17th century in the UK or Europe
Reveal the answer
The answer
Hinged table sections that fold down resemble leaves (drop leaf), and expandable tables date to around the 1500s; 'table leaf' is documented from the late 1600s (Thomas Mace).
Hinged table sections that fold down resemble leaves (drop leaf), and expandable tables date to around the 1500s; 'table leaf' is documented from the late 1600s (Thomas Mace).
Verdict partly
Transcript (auto-generated)
[00:06] Oh, we doing under Googles that was the play of super excited told us we had to [00:17] said we said we signed up for it in the end it's gonna be better and more true [00:25] than Google can give you and this one came in from host Jon Harper table leaf [00:37] Harper my understanding table leaf is it's a table it's it's a table that's you know [00:50] at heart it's a transformer and they can it's an extended table extender yeah so [01:05] you've got a table use like a dining table that you know for I mean the way I see it [01:10] is generally you would have it to be like maybe most of the time you'd have it [01:15] as like a you know four person table but then you can slide it out and then put [01:20] it the leaf in which is an extender like you say and maybe that it'll see six or [01:26] eight or something like that so maybe when guests come over kind of thing yeah [01:30] it's a pretty it's pretty cool thing too you know they're underneath these the [01:38] least usually sit inside the table or at the very least the table pulls open on [01:44] some sort of gears and contraptions table is pretty impressive pulleys and [01:52] whatnot pulleys on your table oh whoa did you make this one rubber bands and [02:00] scotch tape buddy I don't know how to make a boy my dude now question dude [02:09] does the leaf have to go in the middle because we have it we have a table that [02:14] extends but the sort of additional part goes on the end yeah oh you know what I [02:20] had one like that too at some point in the past and I I guess the function is [02:27] the same but is it still called a leaf there are they roots or roots yes or [02:34] roots as I've heard them that's a good question I feel like I don't know I feel [02:42] like no I feel like that's not a leaf but maybe I feel like you have these are [02:46] detachable okay at least it would hide away yeah well this one hides away you [02:53] know so yeah like the one table I had was it had like to the to like kind of [03:02] flaps on the on the outsides that hung down and then you could swing them up to [03:09] where they were you know parallel with the rest of the table and then there [03:12] was a thing that slid underneath it to keep it you know to hold it up which [03:17] changed it from like a two-person table to it was like six I think those are [03:23] just I wouldn't I wouldn't consider that a leaf [03:31] I think a leaf has to go I'd be surrounded by both sides of the table oh that's [03:39] why that definition but why is it a leaf yeah do you think that relates to the [03:44] name leaf well I mean all I'm I'm not going tree on this I'm going paper leaf [03:50] and paper okay right what about leaf Erickson it's not leaf it's leif it's [04:02] table table life living that table life yeah I have no idea on this one I mean I [04:19] get your I kind of get the idea close in that like in a like if you had a folio [04:24] or something like that a leaf is a sort of interchangeable the paper would be an [04:30] interchangeable piece or something like that in that form so you could take it [04:34] out or put it in yeah loose leaf paper which I'd like but I still don't [04:40] understand how it adds to sort of extending and guess it unless there's [04:46] like yeah you stick a piece of paper in to separate two sections or something [04:53] like that and wire yet why do we call papers yeah why is it loose leaf paper [05:01] yeah the leaf part I mean I guess they're all tree products right okay wood [05:13] okay and the and the paper those are all related at least in that way yeah but we [05:23] don't talk about the trunk of the table you know we don't not enough in my [05:29] opinion right yeah I mean I it is something like a I mean like a leaf a [05:42] tree leaf you know it is detachable and similarly loose leaf paper is you know [05:55] it's unattached it can go do or once it can fly away in the breeze and clutter up [06:01] my neighbor's yard ideally get my gutters ideally your neighbor's yard [06:05] yeah yeah I just I guess I'd always just thought of it as the smallest sort of [06:12] you know constituent tree part right that was like as complex as I as I thought it [06:19] might have yeah so it's the simplest form of a table it's a basically just a [06:22] piece of wood yeah yes just like slap it in there boom now you go from a four [06:29] top to a six top or an eight top I mean yeah I don't know of a better [06:35] alternative term I'm thinking like you know like oh oh honey grab grab the grab [06:41] the plank but see why not like like if you'd spit your whole life saying grab [06:49] the table slat you'd be like sure it's the table slat yeah slats are smaller [06:55] though okay sorry okay the table plank yeah maybe it's just because plank has a [07:01] negative connotation from you know pirates hmm walk the plank oh I was [07:07] thinking negative connotation for exercise what about a leaf as a bookmark [07:18] you put a leaf in your to hold two pages separate and then that translated [07:26] holding two parts of your table separate I thought you were just pressing your [07:30] leaves are you actually using it as a sure why not I've just never done that I [07:39] don't bring in trash to use before we had these fancy-dancy crocheted [07:50] bookmarks or whatever people have anything can be a bookmark my man did [07:57] yeah tissue paper or a leaf it could be but you wouldn't put I don't know yeah [08:09] what other kind of trash [08:16] old straws that he finds on the ground that's right that's right my buddy tape [08:22] I have a lot of librarian friends and they told me that at some point a book [08:32] he saw this a book got returned with the uncooked piece of bacon [08:52] can tell you where you were in your book but then you can't read any of the [09:00] all right and there are are we missing the whole world of leaves out there do [09:09] we I feel like we are because it's only tables right like is that yeah or like in [09:17] any other context I mean we have been focusing on loosely paper and actual [09:23] leaves of trees but are there other leaves there's leaves of grass in the [09:29] world there are leaves of grass there are loaves of fishes loaves and fishes [09:36] something like that I think it's loaves I don't think it's leaves no what about [09:42] what about each shoots and leaves sure yeah the Toronto maple leafs does this [09:53] refer to them in any way oh are you think it's a leaf because it's that piece [10:00] of wood leaves the table yeah it just if it disappears into its underbelly mm-hmm [10:08] the tables under belly so yeah I'm now changing I'm saying it's leaves of grass [10:15] that's Walt Whitman somehow current I'm going with what women it's never been [10:21] woven and how long have we been using leaves and tables post-world women [10:27] apparently when did when did we get furniture I mean I feel like the Amish [10:33] have been making furniture that's complicated for centuries yeah for sure [10:38] I feel like the German well probably will relate it in that fashion but the [10:43] Germans I feel like would have made some fancy tables as if it aristocrats are [10:50] making well right but do you feel like the aristocrats just had big tables like [10:54] they didn't need to like I feel like the the leaves need to be where you have [10:59] less space you have to have a smaller table for your everyday table and like [11:05] the the wealthy would have already had massive they would just have a dining [11:09] room that had a table big enough for the dining well like the leaf would be [11:13] a sign of weakness right yeah exactly so I'm gonna go only a popper would have a [11:18] leaf I'm gonna go that a popper couldn't afford a leaf so I'm gonna say [11:23] it's the the middle class so when we that's when we started having leaves [11:30] yeah I don't know fancy tables definitely aristocratic thing Peter the [11:34] great had a table that like went down into the floor so he could turn his [11:38] dining room into a like dance hall whoa cool yeah aristocrats like fancy crap [11:47] and this this is fancy crap okay with all the pulleys and yes all the pulleys so [11:54] many pulleys all the rubber bands I do like the idea when the table where the [11:59] table leaves the dining room yeah exactly there you go all right I'm [12:04] saying this goes back to yeah Victorian era yeah it's pre-industrial revolution [12:12] so yeah 16 17 under something like that yeah feeling feeling UK or Europe yeah [12:22] agreed it's called a leaf because they lift it out lift oh lift it's a table [12:32] lift yeah this is the term leaf stuck because hinged sections of tables when [12:38] folded resembled leaves but and early expandable tables around the 1500s [12:47] apparently a drop leaf does look like a leaf right so is what you guys are [12:56] talking about the the side the wings hmm oh yeah that's in a circle table if [13:02] you drop them on the side they look like leaves but that's the center section is [13:07] what I was thinking of his leaf but I guess they're all called leaves yeah there [13:12] are center leaves and end leaves ah okay so there are self storing versus [13:19] removing yeah I like the self storing cool but it makes your table super [13:25] heavy right why why do you say it looks like a leaf when it's I'm unclear on that [13:34] also should I send you a picture I feel like it does me you need to send me [13:39] something because or share your screen or something because that the ones I'm [13:43] seeing that just look like a part of the table is facing a different [13:48] a butterfly leaf that is cool it like folds up and origami is itself into the [13:57] table oh that's cool oh I have seen those before they're very cool [14:02] preventing wood on wood contact so do we know when this when they were invented [14:14] you said 1500 question what I got this is not one-on-one that's not everything I [14:26] need to know wood stock furniture and mattress outlet you tell him Jason false [14:35] advertising table leaf is from the late 1600s from the writings of Thomas mace [14:44] musician and writer on music okay see a little picture in the chat how that looks [14:50] kind of I do not see how that looks like a leaf now yeah well that's what the [15:06] internet says the internet's got problems man yeah oh I mean I guess we were [15:16] dancing around that one yeah I'd say so Joey do you know what the four leaves [15:20] of a four-week clover stand for hmm justice probably good luck okay that's [15:31] what Jesus is probably one of them faith sure holy spirit oh no once the Pope [15:40] hope faith love and luck okay I like justice though is good and the Pope [15:48] laugh love nailed it nailed it Coalson any good new is nailed it still they still [16:04] make a new nailed it episode you know I haven't seen a nailed it in a while but [16:07] it's I'm sure it holds up sure it holds up it's not that old what kind of things [16:16] you mean like it's like sometimes the movies from you know 30 years ago when [16:20] we were when we were kids like sometimes those movies don't hold up but if a TV [16:25] shows like three years old like Dumbo like doesn't hold up you know does it [16:29] not I don't think so I did see that new Snow White movie is like one and a half [16:34] tomatoes I think it's the lowest rated movie in rotten tomatoes history is it [16:44] there are people mad because they didn't make Snow White white I think that and [16:50] then I think one of the actresses was pro-palestine one of them was pro-israel [16:55] so like everybody's mad somebody's mad at everybody and the CGI dwarves look like [17:01] crap CGI zeros were weird and then yeah the Snow White wasn't white and it may [17:07] also just be a bad movie I don't know how did you see it seems like it's a bad [17:11] movie is it like bad good like it'll be funny to watch cuz it's so bad I would [17:16] just be bad bad apparently gal Gadot's in it does she make it any good movies hey [17:22] we all loved red notice she was a wonder woman yeah I saw the first I thought the [17:33] first one I really like first one was very good much not worse than the second [17:37] one yeah very bad movie oh I did watch that way it was very forgettable [17:48] unforgivable is beyond I mean in there it was in their defense it was COVID when [17:55] they made it but still it was brave didn't have anything else to do shouldn't [17:59] they have been really working hard on that thing did they screwed up I think [18:05] they were all filming it in separate individual rooms on green screens and no [18:09] one was in the room together I think probably man it wasn't the chemistry that [18:12] went wrong all right team well now that we've trashed some Gal Gadot movies for [18:23] like no reason to just under Google of those Bingo card yeah catching a strap [18:30] no she's catching our strays don't at me Gal Gadot