wood shavings vs excelsior

wood shavings and excelsior both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
wood shavings	Yes	No	No	No
excelsior	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, wood shavings and excelsior are synonyms defined as:

wood shavings and excelsior: thin curly wood shavings used for packing or stuffing

wood shavings (noun)	excelsior (noun)
thin curly wood shavings used for packing or stuffing	thin curly wood shavings used for packing or stuffing