B D Finch (asker) Jun 15, 2019:

@Johannes It's not "colloquial/informal", just descriptive. "Idiomatic" is not required, I'm writing a technical instruction booklet, not a novel. However, I do agree if you mean that it's a shame there doesn't seem to be a similarly evocative idiom in English.

Johannes Gleim Jun 15, 2019:

Why not? "barbed plastic pin" may be colloquial/informal but not as idiomatic as "sapin plastique".

B D Finch (asker) Jun 15, 2019:

@Rachel Yes, absolutely. I have delivered the translation and went with "barbed plastic pins".

Rachel Fell Jun 14, 2019:

polyprop barbed pegs on p. 64 - for groundwork there
http://www.pbpltd.co.uk/assets/pbp-brochure-.pdf

B D Finch (asker) Jun 14, 2019:

@Rachel, No, those are wall plugs for driving screws into, not at all the same as either my description or the picture in the link I posted below.

Rachel Fell Jun 14, 2019:

Do you have a picture? Are they anything like these?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/181589258263
or these?
(long Farnell link) tiny.cc/t4na8y
or these?
https://picclick.co.uk/Cavity-Plasterboard-Drywall-Plugs-Scr...
The comma is in the way of your link BTW

B D Finch (asker) Jun 14, 2019:

@philgoddard Thanks for the confirmation.

I think the "sapin plastique" is probably just a colloquial term used by the workers in-house, and it might have been used because there is no generic term, or because the writer didn't realise it wasn't a generally used term.

Rawlplug is a brand name, so shouldn't be used for technical documents unless that brand is being specified. The generic UK term is "wall plug". We also use the term "wall anchor", but in UK English that is a much more heavy-duty metal fixing.

Johannes Gleim Jun 14, 2019:

@ BD Please avoid to add any sign to any link, for instance a comma. This would prevent peers to retrieve the reference easily.

philgoddard Jun 14, 2019:

I think you've answered your own question with "barbed plastic pins/pegs".
That said, and you haven't given the context, would "plastic Christmas tree" be appropriate? They've presumably chosen this slightly humorous term for a reason.
And for what it's worth, rawlplug is UK and anchor is US.

B D Finch (asker) Jun 14, 2019:

Additional information These are for fixing polystyrene insulation panels and have large barbs on the tips. They are abolutely not "chevilles" and no metal is used in the fixing, as that would cause thermal bridging. Note that these are a sort of plastic nail or pin, not Rawlplugs or wall anchors.

I think they look a bit like this: http://www.plummay.com/products_detail/productId=120.html , though obviously smaller and not used for the same purpose.

So, I'm now thinking that "barbed plastic pins/pegs" might be adequate if there is no specific term for them in an insulation panel context.