Drake, an American, described a mode of igniting a combustible gaseous mixture by raising a thimble-shaped piece of metal to incandescence.

Sweet, tart and thimble-shaped, black raspberries resemble the red supermarket variety, only they are smaller and give a greater punch to the palate.

“Just yon,” said the lighthouse keeper, pointing to a cone-shaped rock–perhaps an imaginative person would call it thimble-shaped–lying not far off shore.