Cutlery the term "tableware" has come into use to avoid the implication that they are made of silver. The major items of cutlery in Western culture are the knife, fork and spoon. In recent times, hybrid versions of cutlery have been made combining the functionality of different eating implements, including the spork (spoon / fork), spife (spoon / knife), and knork (knife / fork) or the sporf which combines all three. The word cutler derives from the Middle English word 'cuteler' and this in turn derives from Old French 'coutelier' which comes from 'coutel'; meaning knife (modern French: couteau). The word's
Henry D. Messer the group under a pseudonym, which was the most common practice for members of the organization at that time. Messer also participated in the Stonewall riots of 1969. Around 1970, Messer and House hosted a meeting with Mattachine members and New York City Councilman Eldon R. Clingan, where the members of the organization shared their firsthand accounts of discrimination with the city leader. Clingan and Councilman Carter Burden introduced a bill in 1971, which Messer helped author, that would have prohibited discrimination in employment and housing on the basis of sexual orientation in New York City. The bill was unsuccessful