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Aug 20, 2020 at 15:03 comment added EllieK If the balloon is not tethered, as is the case with small/toy balloons, you would call the tether by the material it's made of -- Hold the balloon by the string, stick, yarn, ribbon. If the balloon was a large, untethered, passenger balloon you could still call the tether by its material but you might also call it the tether. You might say -- Hold the balloon by the rope, chain, cable, etc.
Jun 28, 2020 at 6:50 comment added JavaLatte @BruceMurray a tether is not the right word: it comes from the from Old Norse tjóthr, from a Germanic base meaning ‘fasten’. If you are not using it to fasten the balloon to something, it's not a tether- it's just a string, ribbon, stick or whatever.
Jun 28, 2020 at 6:42 comment added Bruce Murray So when someone holds a helium balloon at a theme park, do you know how the tether is then referred to after it has transitioned from being secured to a fixture at the kiosk to being held in the hand? That is what the OP is asking.
Jun 28, 2020 at 6:36 history edited Jay A. Little CC BY-SA 4.0
added 65 characters in body
Jun 28, 2020 at 6:34 comment added Jay A. Little @Tom Hmmm, stick is fine if that is the style of item attached to the balloon. But "body" is less clear than just saying "balloon". So how about "Hold it by the stick, not by the balloon itself."
Jun 28, 2020 at 6:27 comment added Jay A. Little @BruceMurray Your link only shows examples of large balloons. I did say that small balloons can also be tethered to something, but the point is that you don't hold a tether with the hand. A tether is specifically meant to be tied down. So I don't think it fits here.
Jun 28, 2020 at 6:21 comment added Tom What about "hold it by the stick, not by its body"
Jun 28, 2020 at 6:11 comment added Bruce Murray Why do you think it's only for large balloons? Is there another word for small balloons? I don't know it. It's more common to hear it applied to large balloons but I don't think that is limited to this when a formal description is necessary.
Jun 28, 2020 at 6:06 comment added Jay A. Little Not really. A "tether" would be for a large balloon attached to the ground, not held by the hand. You can "tether" a small balloon to something though, even a body part. "Tether the balloon to your wrist." You can also hold a tether, but the end of the tether would be attached to something and you would be helping to hold it but not alone in holding the balloon down.
Jun 28, 2020 at 5:57 comment added Bruce Murray The balloon is held by it's tether. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tethered_balloon
Jun 28, 2020 at 5:49 history answered Jay A. Little CC BY-SA 4.0