An old shop term for quadrats, which are blank spacing blocks, when they are thrown on the imposing stone like dice. Typesetters would use the nicked sides of the quads to keep score in a game called jeffing, often played to determine who would buy drinks or take on an undesirable task.
Heard on the job
The foreman caught the apprentices throwing the gods on the stone instead of distributing type.
Insider tip
The game played with these quads is known as jeffing.