This flat piece of steel or brass sits inside the composing stick, providing a smooth surface against which the compositor slides individual metal letters. Once a line is complete, the rule helps keep the characters stable while the entire block of text is lifted out of the stick and transferred to a galley tray.
Heard on the job
I dropped my composing rule and the whole stickful of type pied on the floor.
Insider tip
A good compositor keeps their rule polished and free of burrs so the type slides smoothly without catching.
Also heard as
- setting rule