A container with a handle and a hinged cover, used for collecting table crumbs or emptying ashtrays.
Example sentencesExamples
Often mistaken for silent butlers, these cheese dishes were used in the late 18th and 19th centuries to make the popular repast.
This is a beautiful vintage Toleware silent butler that probably dates to the 1930's or 1940's.
This is a pretty round silent butler with a very nice Art Deco design on the lid.
Among the current collections on display in their home is an array of silent butlers - dishes with handles and lids that were once commonly used to dump ashtrays into - hand-made music boxes from Sorrento, Italy, and several dazzling serving trays inlaid with designs made from butterfly wings.
Definition of silent butler in US English:
silent butler
noun
A container with a handle and a hinged cover, used for collecting table crumbs or emptying ashtrays.
Example sentencesExamples
Among the current collections on display in their home is an array of silent butlers - dishes with handles and lids that were once commonly used to dump ashtrays into - hand-made music boxes from Sorrento, Italy, and several dazzling serving trays inlaid with designs made from butterfly wings.
This is a beautiful vintage Toleware silent butler that probably dates to the 1930's or 1940's.
This is a pretty round silent butler with a very nice Art Deco design on the lid.
Often mistaken for silent butlers, these cheese dishes were used in the late 18th and 19th centuries to make the popular repast.