A pile of unmatched socks that is bundled together with another sock, creating an object that resembles an octopus.

A collection of stray socks bundled together in the hope that their partners will one day spontaneously rematerialise. The name derives from the fact that the loose end of each sock emerges like a tentacle from the body of a cephalopod.

The preponderance of unattached socklings is now known to be an effect of quantum physics. The uncertainty about the fate of the other socks is known as the Uncertainty Principle.

See also quantum entanglement.

When 4 socks are tied together, knotted at the middle, as a chew toy for your dog.