Does "slice them into thin spears" sound natural? What are some other ways I can say it?
▪ Next, top and tail the cucumbers and slice them into thin spears, removing the seedy flesh from the center.
'Spears' suggests they are pointed, and I haven't heard of this used with cucumbers. If you're looking at long cuboid pieces, I'd use 'batons', 'sticks' or possibly 'strips'.
Teachers: We supply a list of EFL job vacancies
Comments
We have them in the U.S. You can buy "dill spears" in most supermarkets.
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1173&bih=809&ei=jsXGX6K8GZGUsgWlx7jQAg&q=dill+spears&oq=dill+spears&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzICCAAyBggAEAUQHjIGCAAQBRAeMgYIABAFEB4yBggAEAUQHjIGCAAQBRAeMgYIABAFEB4yBggAEAgQHjIECAAQGDIECAAQGDoICAAQsQMQgwE6BQgAELEDUKgkWPYuYNQ0aABwAHgAgAFxiAHrCJIBAzQuN5gBAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1n&sclient=img&ved=0ahUKEwiiu-Gf7K3tAhURiqwKHaUjDioQ4dUDCAY&uact=5
I don't think longcuboids exist, do they? I think all the edges and sides of a cube are the same, and if any are longer than the others, it's not a cube anymore.
CJ
Ah - cuboids are not cubes, CJ - sorry, I'm a maths teacher as well! Cuboids are prisms with a square or rectangular cross-section.
Interesting to hear that 'spears' is used in the US; the only mention of 'spears' in the UK - in a vegetable way - is asparagus spears.
I did not know that. Good to know.
Does that make cuboids rectilinear prisms?
We have those, too.
CJ
Essentially, yes. There's mathematical chatter about whether the two are entirely synonymous, but the mathematicians also state that cylinders are not prisms, when it is commonly assumed that they are. A lot of it is dancing on the head of a pin...
Looking on the bright side, at least it's with the angels.
CJ