The supplementary pages of a book that are not part of the primary continuous text, encompassing the front matter and back matter. This includes title pages, half-titles, prefaces, tables of contents, appendices, and indexes. Because these sections are often finalized last or require different pagination schemes, they are frequently printed as separate, smaller signatures rather than being imposed with the main text block.
Heard on the job
We're running the main text on the web press, but we'll print the oddments on the sheetfed once the index is approved.
Also heard as
- front matter
- back matter
- prelims