There's a word popping up to describe nibs in classified advertisements: "Springy." If it has been around for decades, I hadn't noticed, but recently as I was perusing the classifieds in FPN, it struck me how often "springy" appears. My firm nibs' tines spring. After all, that's the way their tines work. So how do I define springy? I don't, other than it's not a nail.

I submit that "springy" is another of those vague terms that a potential pen buyer had better clarify before sending payment. After all, a seller wouldn't want a buyer to confuse springy with semi-flex, right?