the.com/tablecloth
a meal's bodyguard, taking the spill so your wood never has to.
means A cloth spread over a table to protect its surface and dress it up for a meal.
from A plain English compound of "table" and "cloth." "Table" came through Old English "tabule" and Old French "table" from Latin "tabula," a board or plank. "Cloth" is purely Germanic, from Old English "claþ." So the word is exactly what it says: a cloth for the board — Rome's furniture wearing a Germanic coat.
magic trickYanking one out leaves dishes via inertia, not luck
medieval napkinDiners once wiped greasy hands on communal edges
status symbolWhite linen signaled you could afford ruining it
sizing ruleProper drop hangs six to twelve inches over edges