slip-galley

A printer carefully arranges metal type in a slip-galley.

Definition

1. Noun (Printing):
   • A shallow tray or frame used in typesetting to hold composed type or printing plates, typically made of metal or wood, allowing for easy handling and storage of type before it is placed on the press.
   • Specifically, a "slip-galley" is a galley (a flat, rectangular tray) designed to hold a "slip" (a single column of type) during the proofreading or correction process.

Usage Examples

• (A typesetter placed individual metal type pieces into the tray for printing.)
• (The editor reviewed the tray of type and noted changes to be made.)

Advanced Usage

• "to work from a slip-galley": to prepare or correct type that is set in a single-column format.
  • The printer worked from a slip-galley to ensure each line of text was aligned perfectly. (The typesetter used the tray to adjust spacing and alignment.)

Variants and Related Words

• Galley (n): a flat tray used in printing to hold type; also refers to a proof taken from such a tray.

  • The galley was filled with freshly set type. (The tray contained recently arranged printing letters.)

• Slip-proof (n): a proof (test print) taken from a slip-galley.

  • The author reviewed the slip-proof for errors before final printing. (The writer checked a print from the tray for mistakes.)

Synonyms

• Type tray: a container for holding printing type.
• Composition frame: a structure used to hold type during typesetting.

Related Idioms

• "to be in galley": (archaic) to be in the process of being typeset or proofread.
  • The manuscript is still in galley, so we can make changes. (The text is in the tray stage and can still be edited.)

Phrasal Verbs

• Slip into: to place type into a slip-galley.
  • The worker slipped the type into the galley carefully. (The typesetter put the metal pieces into the tray.)

Note: This term is highly specialized to the printing industry and is rarely used outside of historical or technical contexts.