A barber's pole is a type of sign used by barbers to signify the place or shop where they perform their craft. The trade sign is, by a tradition dating back to the Middle Ages, a staff or pole with a helix of colored stripes (often red and white in many countries, but usually red, white and blue in Japan and the United States). The pole may be stationary or may rotate, often with the aid of an electric motor.[1][2]
A "barber's pole" with a helical stripe is a familiar sight, and is used as a secondary metaphor to describe objects in many other contexts. For example, if the shaft or tower of a lighthouse has been painted with a helical stripe as a daymark, the lighthouse could be described as having been painted in "barber's pole" colors.
- ^ "Barber Pole". Webster's New World College Dictionary. Cleveland: Wiley Publishing. 2010. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
- ^ Smith, Kate. "Why Barber Poles are Red and White". Sensational Color. Archived from the original on 29 November 2010. Retrieved 14 November 2010.