apostle spoon

English

Noun

apostle spoon (plural apostle spoons)

  1. A spoon (usually silver) with an image of an apostle or other Christian religious figure as the termination of the handle.
    Apostle spoons were a common baptismal gift in the 16th and 17th centuries.
    • 1926, Gilbert Keith Chesterton, “The Dagger With Wings” in The Incredulity of Father Brown:
      He had picked up a small apostle spoon from the sideboard and by sheer violence broke off the small figure at the top.
    • 2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 114:
      They busied themselves with the tea. There were silver tongs for the sugar, apostle spoons with elaborate handles, a milk jug adorned with a pheasant in flight.
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