buttonhook

American  

[buht-n-hook] / ˈbʌt nˌhʊk /

noun

1. a small, usually metal hook for pulling buttons through buttonholes, as on gloves, dresses, breeches, etc.

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buttonhook British  

/ ˈbʌtənˌhʊk /

noun

1. a thin tapering hooked instrument formerly used for pulling buttons through the buttonholes of gloves, shoes, etc

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Etymology

Origin of buttonhook

First recorded in 1865–70; button + hook ¹

Example Sentences

That’s because the bigger interchanges are expected to entice drivers to use the tunnel, then buttonhook toward downtown destinations, said toll spokeswoman Emily Glad.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 3, 2019

Then a doctor dipped a buttonhook into an antiseptic solution and used it to flip back the eyelid.

From Time Magazine Archive

He dresses himself with a buttonhook -- painstaking exercise for a man without the use of one arm, struggling through the top button of his shirt and the knot on his tie by himself.

From Time Magazine Archive

He failed, but finally did manage to swerve the spacecraft into a nearly normal "buttonhook" rendezvous.

From Time Magazine Archive

Sam Houston gave me a buttonhook, and Lamar gave me a pincushion shaped like a fat red tomato.

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly