tool tipn.
/ˈtuːl tɪp/, U.S. /ˈtul ˌtɪp/ 1. A hint or piece of advice relating to the use of a tool or tools.
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the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > advice > [noun] > hint or tip > particular types of
the straight tip1871
tool tip1962
1962 Pop. Sci. Apr. 168 (heading) 7 tool tips for the home shop.
1992 Toronto Star (Nexis) 23 Sept. c1 Katzen calls her revamped book that comes prefaced with nifty new Pantry Notes, tool tips, hints on how to reduce fat in cooking and a conversion chart ‘user-friendly’.
2001 Pop. Mech. Jan. (advt.) Tool tip of the month: work smarter. Built-in flexibility gives you room to move in tight spaces.
2. Computing. Usually in form tooltip. A small text box which is displayed when the pointer in a graphical user interface is positioned over an icon, image, hyperlink, or other element, usually providing information about the element or its function.
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1993 InfoWorld 4 Oct. 124/1 When you let the cursor rest on a tool bar button, a ‘tooltip’ pops up right where you're looking.
2002 Network World 4 Feb. 46/3 As in so many applications, the tool tip help—those text bubbles that pop up when the mouse hovers over a toolbar icon—doesn't always appear.
2009 PC Mag. (Nexis) 2 June Google displays an arrow under the link to a video result that pops up a tooltip saying ‘Playable on Google Video’, but clicking that arrow does nothing.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1962