LEAD n. 1. Chem. a heavy, comparatively soft, malleable bluish-grey metal, sometimes found native, but usu. combined as sulphide, in galena. Symbol: Pb; at wt: 207.19; at no.: 82; sp. gr.: 11. 34 at 20" C. 2. Something made of this metal or one of its alloys. 3. A plummet or mass of lead suspended by a line, as for taking soundings. 4. Heave the lead, Naut. to take a sounding with a lead. 5. Swing the lead, to be idle when there is work to be done. 6. Put lead in one's pencil, (of a male) to increase sexual capacity. 7. Bullets; shot. 8. Black lead or graphite. 9. A small stick of it as used in pencils. 10. Also, leading. Prim. a thin strip of metal or brass, less than type high, for increasing the space between lines. 11. Frames of lead in which panes are fixed, as in windows of stained glass. 12. (pI.) Sheets or strips of lead used for covering roofs. 13. See red lead, white lead. -v. t. 14. To cover, line, weight, treat, or impregnate with lead or one of its compounds. 15. Prim. to insert lead between the lines of type. 16. To fix (window glass) in position with leads. -adj. 17. Containing or made of lead. 18. Go down like a lead balloon, to fail dismally; fail to elicit the desired response. [ME lede, OE lead, c. D lood, G Lot plummet]. (Macquarie Dictionary 1982)

PLUMB, n, Ball of lead, esp. attached to mason's plumb-line (string for testing perpendicularity of wall etc) ... ad) (fig) down­right, sheer, as plumb nonsense

adv *(sl.) quite utterly, (plumb crazy, clean mad). [ME; f. OF plumb f. L plumbum lead] (Concise Oxford Dictionary 1964)

PLUMBAGO n. Black lead, graphite, a form of carbon used for pencils etc & mixed with clay for making crucibles; leadwort, plant with greyish-blue flowers. Hence plumbaginous a. [L, gen. -ginis, f. plumbum lead]

Q. The Elite Maintenance Service's carpet cleaning system is the only one we know of that actually removes all the lead particles from carpets, soft furnishings and drapery (under tests by the SA Department of Environment & Planning). Does anyone know of any other effective system?

Q. Does anyone know how the plumbago plant (also called leadwort) got its name? Is it just the blue-grey colour of the flowers - or was the plant once used to treat lead poisoning?