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I haven't found "fancy paper" in a dictionary. I could only guess by using an images search and reading sentences containing the word. So I am not sure if "fancy paper" can be used as an exact synonym for the terms "gift wrap paper" and "wrapping paper". Besides that, does "fancy paper" have any additional meanings?

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  • What is the context? It could mean different things, from wrapping paper to origami paper to stationery.
    – 1006a
    May 22, 2017 at 3:39
  • I don't remember exactly; I had written down "fancy paper" some time ago when I had come across it the first time. It was something about a thing, probably a present, "wrapped in fancy paper". The answers here and the examples on staples.com have made things clearer now.
    – mondegreen dispenser
    May 22, 2017 at 8:24

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I've never heard of wrapping paper referred to as "fancy paper". Searching on Staples.com, some of the results are, indeed wrapping paper, but some of the results are just special or artistic paper (for writing on), so I wouldn't count on others knowing what you mean if you try to use them as synonyms.

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  • Thanks. I've found something from 1969 in Google Books, which could be rearranged as a definition in the sense of "Different kinds of paper with a unique touch and available in many colors and patterns, divided into several kinds according to the methods of processing." I think something like that would be fitting?
    – mondegreen dispenser
    May 22, 2017 at 0:25
  • Sure, seems about right. That sounds mainly like how you would apply the word "fancy" to paper in general :)
    – Ben I.
    May 22, 2017 at 0:26
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Gift wrap paper or wrapping paper isn't called "fancy paper", but you could say something like this and no one would bat an eye:

Before we give him this plaque, we should wrap it up in some fancy paper.

If you went into a stationery store and asked for fancy paper, they wouldn't know what you had in mind and would probably ask whether you wanted writing paper or crafts paper or wrapping paper.

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This is a bad idea, in my opinion. When I hear the term "fancy paper," my first thought is not wrapping paper, but some kind of fancy stationery, like this:

enter image description here

Now that's some fancy paper there!

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  • Yes, the examples on staples.com have shown me that fancy paper can mean many things and that I can't define the term that narrow.
    – mondegreen dispenser
    May 22, 2017 at 8:26
  • I have to deduct a point for spelling, JR. Mnemonic: "paper" => stationery.
    – Tᴚoɯɐuo
    May 22, 2017 at 14:00
  • @Tᴚoɯɐuo - I'm a bit disappointed; the edit button would have been a more appreciated approach. "If you have the credit, make the edit." :-) But thanks for the mnemonic.
    – J.R. ♦
    May 22, 2017 at 15:48
  • @J.R. I had to seize the opportunity to share that mnemonic. It has been burning a hole in my brain for years. Thanks for the motto.
    – Tᴚoɯɐuo
    May 22, 2017 at 17:01
  • @Tᴚoɯɐuo - One good mnemonic deserves another. (Btw, now that I know you've been dying to share that, I feel much better about your comment. I'm almost glad I made the gaffe!)
    – J.R. ♦
    May 22, 2017 at 19:02

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