Country Life
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Samuel Clemens (1835 - 1910), better known as Mark Twain. Photo by PhotoQuest/Getty Images.
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Samuel Clemens Leghorn — better known as Mark Twain — was a man of many trades besides writing, and one of his inventions is still with us today. Martin Fone explains more.
I have always preferred wearing a belt to a pair of braces — or suspenders, as the Americans rather prosaically call them, a perfect example of the opportunities that exist for embarrassing confusion between the versions of English spoken on either side of the Atlantic.
Belts, for me, are easier to use and fulfil the dual purpose of giving a little bit of shape to my ever-expanding waistline as well as preventing my trousers from falling down. Braces are fiddlier and I’m old-fashioned enough to think that they should not be seen, necessitating an extra layer of clothing to hide them.