tête-bêche

[ tet-besh ]

adjective

, Philately.

1. of or relating to a pair of stamps that have been printed with one stamp inverted.

tête-bêche

/ tɛtˈbɛʃ /

adjective

1. philately (of an unseparated pair of stamps) printed so that one is inverted in relation to the other

Word History and Origins

Origin of tête-bêche¹

1880–85; < French, equivalent to tête head + bêche, reduced from béchevet placed with the head of one against the foot of the other

Word History and Origins

Origin of tête-bêche¹

C19: from French, from tête head + bêche, from obsolete béchevet double-headed (originally of a bed)

Example Sentences

When science fiction jumped from pulp magazines to full books during the mass-market paperback revolution of the 1950s, publisher Ace Books used an innovative new format known as Tête-bêche.

From The Verge

Spoken extracts from his popular stream-of-consciousness novella “Tête-Bêche” provide a soundtrack for the moving trams.

From New York Times

The book – a “tête-bêche”, or “head-to-tail” edition, in which each poet’s work occupies a part of the book, which is printed upside down in relation to the other’s – is dedicated to their elder sister, Dana.

From The Guardian

With Ace Doubles stopping production in the early 70s and the Gollancz Binary 2 series out in the early 90s, any fans of the tête-bêche format should get their fixes while they can ... based on the trend, it might be another 20 years before the head-to-tail book is back in favour again.

From The Guardian

At about the same time, US outfit Generation Next Publications unveiled its new Flip It series of tête-bêche books, slightly different in that they feature two novels by the same author – their first one is by American horror writer William Meikle.

From The Guardian