flock-bed

A woman fluffs up the old flock-bed in the guest room.

Definition

Noun: A type of mattress or bed stuffed with flock (waste wool, cotton, or other fibrous material), typically used as a cheap or low-quality bedding.

Usage Examples

• (A mattress stuffed with waste wool or cotton.)
• (A cheap, low-quality mattress.)

Advanced Usage

• "to lie on a flock-bed": to sleep on such a mattress, often implying discomfort or poverty.
  • After a long day of labour, he lay on his flock-bed, grateful for any rest. (He slept on a simple, stuffed mattress.)

Variants and Related Words

• Flock (n): a tuft or mass of wool, cotton, or similar fibrous material; often used as stuffing.

  • The pillow was filled with soft flock. (The pillow contained fibrous material.)

• Flock-bedding (n): bedding made with flock stuffing.

  • The prison issued flock-bedding to all inmates. (Mattresses filled with waste material.)

Synonyms

• Straw mattress: a mattress filled with straw.
• Pallet: a simple, often makeshift bed.
• Trundle bed: a low bed that can be stored under another bed, though not necessarily stuffed with flock.

Related Idioms

• "A flock-bed and a hard crust": a phrase describing a life of poverty or hardship.
  • He was content with a flock-bed and a hard crust, asking for nothing more. (He accepted a simple, poor lifestyle.)

Note: "Flock-bed" is a historical or literary term; it is rarely used in modern English except in descriptions of past living conditions or in historical fiction.