Pronounced "pants neigh," this is the term for the form of
glasses or
spectacles that have no
earpiece, but are rather held firmly to the
nose by a spring in the
nosepieces. They sometimes have a
ribbon or
string lanyard threaded through the
frame or a
hole drilled in the edge of one
lens, to prevent it from falling to the ground should it slip from the wearer's nose.
Pince-nez glasses are rarity in the world of today, though they were quite popular, along with monocles, in the 19th and early part of the 20th centuries.