[f. as prec. + -ER1.] One who flattens; something used for flattening.
1741. [see FLATTER sb.2 1].
1864. Carlyle, Fredk. Gt., IV. XVI. vi. 329. There had followed a dryness between the divine Emilie and the Flattener of the Earth [i.e. Maupertuis, from his having proved the flattening of the earth at the poles], scarcely to be healed by Voltaire’s best efforts.
1875. Plain Needlework, 14. To those who fear that the children’s nails would dirty their work, or the top of the thimble also by this process, it is suggested to use an old toothbrush handle, which, to give it greater honour, might be called ‘the flattener.’
1879. J. Paton, in Encycl. Brit. (9 ed.), X. 661/2. The flattener, with a piece of charred wood, rubs it [the opened cylinder of glass] quite smooth.
