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Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2007How to call the thing if I don't know what is the name of that thing?
Hi, I think I might need a word which may be used for calling something particular if I don't know the exact name of it. For example: "You open the door in your car and you see something small on the left" We don't know the name of that little something and instead of "this little something" we would like to use a word of universal meaning. I wonder if such a word exist in English language. Thanks in advance Ed. > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > little something" we would like to use a word of universal meaning. I > wonder if such a word exist in English language. There is indeed: the word is "thing". athel > There is indeed: the word is "thing". > > athel And how about something less formal? I mean something little funny which is in use for example when two guys talk to each other about something very particular? "Thing" is alright , but I was thinking about some non formal word :) Let's establish there is a word "dinks" in English and when one says "Take this dinks and throw it away" , the "dinks" may be whatever , but when you hear "dinks" you think it is funny word and sometimes can make you laugh :) When one hears "Take this thing and throw it away" , the "thing" may be whatever as well , but when you hear it it is not a funny word which could make you laugh. Ed. >> There is indeed: the word is "thing". >> [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] >whatever as well , but when you hear it it is not a funny word which >could make you laugh. Individuals have individual words for this. "Doohickey" might do.  SignatureTony Cooper Orlando, FL > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > little something" we would like to use a word of universal meaning. I > wonder if such a word exist in English language. In formal language, "thing" is usual. You can add adjectives if necessary and possible. Informally, we have a number of expressions including "whatsit" (or "wotsit"), "thingy" or "thingie", "whatchermacallit" (in various spellings), "whatsthename" (or "whatsaname", "wossname"), "dooberry", "doodah", and "doodad" (I think this last is chiefly N American). My father used "hoojah", but it doesn't seem to be common. Some people also use "thing" as a vague adjective, especially (always?) for negative qualities: "She got all thing when I told her the news". For people, the equivalents include "whatsisname" and "whatsisface". SignatureMike. >>Hi, >> [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > "whatchermacallit" (in various spellings), "whatsthename" (or > "whatsaname", "wossname"), "dooberry", <thinks> I always though that was "doobry" <checks OED> It can be doobrey, doobri, doobrie, doobry, dubry. No definition but a link to "thingummy": ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Used (in undignified speech) to indicate vaguely a thing (or person) of which the speaker cannot at the moment recall the name, or which he is at a loss or does not care to specify precisely; a ‘what-you-may-call-it’. Also in extended form thingummytight (-tite, etc.). ----------------------------------------------------------------------- I have never come across thingummytight before. Perhaps I am nore dignified than I thought. [..] SignatureLaura (emulate St. George for email) Mike Lyle: > In formal language, "thing" is usual. You can add adjectives if > necessary and possible. Informally, we have a number of expressions [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > this last is chiefly N American). My father used "hoojah", but it > doesn't seem to be common. Don't forget "thingumbob". SignatureMark Brader, Toronto | "*I* never have problems distinguishing msb@vex.net | Peter Seebach and Steve Summit!" -- Steve Summit > Mike Lyle: >> In formal language, "thing" is usual. You can add adjectives if [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Don't forget "thingumbob". I know that one as four-syllable "thingamabob". SignatureSalvatore Volatile >> Mike Lyle: >>> In formal language, "thing" is usual. You can add adjectives if [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >>> this last is chiefly N American). My father used "hoojah", but it >>> doesn't seem to be common. Introspecting, if I know what the thing is called but can't remember the name at the moment, it's a "whatchamacallit" (from "what you may call it"). If, however, I don't know what the thing is called, it's a "doohicky" or, perhaps more often these days, a "thingy". >> Don't forget "thingumbob". > > I know that one as four-syllable "thingamabob". Me, too. I presume that Laura's already been infected by now, so I'll mention "the thingamabob that does the job". Others I've heard (and perhaps used) are "whatsit", "hoozit", "whatchamahoozit", "dojobber", "gimcrack", "dinkus", "doodad", and "whatever". There are some differences. A "doodad" or "gimcrack" is probably ornamental, while a "doojobber" or "doohicky" probably does something. SignatureEvan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------ HP Laboratories |People think it must be fun to be a 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |super genius, but they don't Palo Alto, CA 94304 |realize how hard it is to put up |with all the idiots in the world. kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com | Calvin (650)857-7572 http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ > Introspecting, if I know what the thing is called but can't remember > the name at the moment, it's a "whatchamacallit" (from "what you may > call it"). If, however, I don't know what the thing is called, it's a > "doohicky" or, perhaps more often these days, a "thingy". This may be a pure Californism, but we often called such an item a "deal".... Usage examples: "He had some kind of automatic deal that would keep track of how many stupid questions he answered." "Hand me that long-handled deal over on the bench, willya?" ....r >> Introspecting, if I know what the thing is called but can't >> remember the name at the moment, it's a "whatchamacallit" (from [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > "Hand me that long-handled deal over on the bench, willya?" Maybe a Westernism. In the Nero Wolfe novel _Death of a Dude_, copyright 1969, Wolfe is introduced to the Real Montana Trout Deal, a fish dish implicating brown sugar. [...] > > This may be a pure Californism, but we often called such an item a > > "deal".... [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > copyright 1969, Wolfe is introduced to the Real Montana Trout Deal, a > fish dish implicating brown sugar. I use "deal" a lot, to show how dashingly cosmopolitan I am. I learnt it from a denizen of up-state New York, I think he was. SignatureMike. > [...] >>> This may be a pure Californism, but we often called such an item a [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > I use "deal" a lot, to show how dashingly cosmopolitan I am. I > learnt it from a denizen of up-state New York, I think he was. In the same concrete way as r? I find that is outside my own practice. Using it to mean "business" or "matter", is of course no big deal. > > [...] > >>> This may be a pure Californism, but we often called such an item a [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > practice. Using it to mean "business" or "matter", is of course no > big deal. Yes, I do use it for material things, but probably not for very small and simple ones. I'm unsuccessfully trying to introspect whether a chisel would be a typical "deal", but a pair of pliers or a sledgehammer would be. SignatureMike. Mike Lyle filted: >> > [...] >> >>> This may be a pure Californism, but we often called such an item a [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] >chisel would be a typical "deal", but a pair of pliers or a >sledgehammer would be. How about one of those yellow plastic triskelia we used to use in the center of 45rpm records?...not complex (no moving parts), and certainly not large...I once used one as a paint chip: "I need five gallons of matte latex to match this deal"....r Signature"Keep your eye on the Bishop. I want to know when he makes his move", said the Inspector, obliquely. > Mike Lyle filted: >> [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > certainly not large...I once used one as a paint chip: "I need five > gallons of matte latex to match this deal"....r Ah, perhaps the dual function made it complicated enough to qualify, like those breath mint dea(No, can't do it, sorry)thingummies. Not a good deal, certes, but a deal perhaps to some. > > Introspecting, if I know what the thing is called but can't remember > > the name at the moment, it's a "whatchamacallit" (from "what you may [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > "Hand me that long-handled deal over on the bench, willya?" I don't remember hearing "deal" in that sense, but definitely "dealie," "dealie-bob," and "dealie-bopper," however spelled. The form "deely-bopper" became the name of those silly antennae on headbands that bobbled around. Such as: http://www-astro.physics.ox.ac.uk/~rmb/mayday1.jpg SignatureBest -- Donna Richoux Another Californian > >> Mike Lyle: > >>> In formal language, "thing" is usual. You can add adjectives if [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > "whatchamahoozit", "dojobber", "gimcrack", "dinkus", "doodad", and > "whatever". Another: "whositswhatsits" SignaturePosted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com Mike Lyle: >>> In formal language, "thing" is usual. You can add adjectives if >>> necessary and possible. Informally, we have a number of expressions >>> including "whatsit" (or "wotsit"), "thingy" or "thingie", >>> "whatchermacallit" (in various spellings), "whatsthename" (or >>> "whatsaname", "wossname"), "dooberry", "doodah", and "doodad" ... Mark Brader: >> Don't forget "thingumbob". Richard Fontana: > I know that one as four-syllable "thingamabob". Ah, right, that too -- although I'd spell it "thingumabob" (and similarly "thingumajig"). SignatureMark Brader, Toronto | "However, 0.02283% failure might be better than 50% msb@vex.net | failure, depending on your needs." --Norman Diamond > > Mike Lyle: > >> In formal language, "thing" is usual. You can add adjectives if [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > I know that one as four-syllable "thingamabob". Or "thingamybob" SignaturePosted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com > Mike Lyle: > > In formal language, "thing" is usual. You can add adjectives if [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Don't forget "thingumbob". Thingamajig ? John Kane, Kingston ON Canada In alt.usage.english, Mike Lyle wrote: >My father used "hoojah", but it >doesn't seem to be common. In our family it was "hooja-ma-jig". SignatureMike Barnes Cheshire, England [snip] > including "whatsit" (or "wotsit"), "thingy" or "thingie", > "whatchermacallit" (in various spellings), "whatsthename" (or > "whatsaname", "wossname"), "dooberry", "doodah", and "doodad" (I think > this last is chiefly N American). My father used "hoojah", but it > doesn't seem to be common. [snip] > For people, the equivalents include "whatsisname" and "whatsisface". [snip] This newspaper article has "gizmo" (re thing) and "doofus" (re people) and seems fairly pertinent: http://www.hvjournal.com/articles.php?id=332 Life as a Doohickey Doofus By: Sharon May "...I'll give you 50 points on your essay for unjamming my appliance, programming my gizmo, and installing that thingamajig in my doohickey..." WS wrote, in <1167997538.437751.267410@51g2000cwl.googlegroups.com> on 5 Jan 2007 03:45:38 -0800: > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Thanks in advance A word often used for that is 'widget'. SignatureNick Spalding Nick Spalding a écrit : > WS wrote, in <1167997538.437751.267410@51g2000cwl.googlegroups.com> > on 5 Jan 2007 03:45:38 -0800: [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > A word often used for that is 'widget'. Into my african language, we say "unameble" ;-) SignatureLes chiens ont des puces, mais ils n'ont pas de reseau. 6c > WS wrote, in <1167997538.437751.267410@51g2000cwl.googlegroups.com> > on 5 Jan 2007 03:45:38 -0800: [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > A word often used for that is 'widget'. A "widget" is usually some kind of small tool or device or component, I think? A technical thingummy, anyway. Alan Jones > > WS wrote, in <1167997538.437751.267410@51g2000cwl.googlegroups.com> > > on 5 Jan 2007 03:45:38 -0800: [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > A "widget" is usually some kind of small tool or device or component, I > think? A technical thingummy, anyway. And now to a great extent taken over by those plastic pods of nitrogen they put in tins of beer to make it resemble cappuccino. SignatureMike. Nick Spalding: >>> A word often used for that is 'widget'. Alan Jones: >> A "widget" is usually some kind of small tool or device or component, I >> think? A technical thingummy, anyway. Mike Lyle: > And now to a great extent taken over by those plastic pods of nitrogen > they put in tins of beer to make it resemble cappuccino. It has another specific technical meaning -- see here: http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci213364,00.html I know this specifically in connection with X Windows (i.e. UNIX/Linux); I don't know if other windowing systems also use the term. SignatureMark Brader, Toronto | "Some people open all the windows: msb@vex.net | wise wives welcome spring by moving the UNIX." -- ad, Housewife magazine, April 1941 > Nick Spalding: >>>> A word often used for that is 'widget'. [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > (i.e. UNIX/Linux); I don't know if other windowing systems also use > the term. I'm pretty sure that it was coined (in this sense) for X Windows, in particular with the Xt library. I don't believe that the concept was used in W, but I didn't do any actual GUI programming there. Note that when the bookkeeping overhead of widgets is unjustifiable, later libraries allowed you to use lighter-weight "gadgets". SignatureEvan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------ HP Laboratories |It is a popular delusion that the 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |government wastes vast amounts of Palo Alto, CA 94304 |money through inefficiency and sloth. |Enormous effort and elaborate kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com |planning are required to waste this (650)857-7572 |much money | P.J. O'Rourke http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ >> Nick Spalding: >>>>> A word often used for that is 'widget'. [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > Note that when the bookkeeping overhead of widgets is unjustifiable, > later libraries allowed you to use lighter-weight "gadgets". Has anybody mentioned the variant form "wadget' yet? Thodore Sturgeon used it for an un-nameable thingy in his novella _The (Widget), the (Wadget), and Boff_ (1955), in a way that made me think it was familiar usage somewhere in the USA. I chose "thingy" above because recent usage permits its application to a person as well as to an object. > A "widget" is usually some kind of small tool or device or component, > I think? A technical thingummy, anyway. I have known it only as defined by M-W Online: 2 : an unnamed article considered for purposes of hypothetical example I've encountered it mostly in math problems. You know -- a factory with ten widget-making machines can produce 1000 widgets an hour at a cost of 10 cents per widget. If three additional machines were added and the foreman was given a bonus, how large a golden parachute could the CEO get away with? SignatureSkitt (in Hayward, California) http://www.geocities.com/opus731/ > > WS wrote, in <1167997538.437751.267410@51g2000cwl.googlegroups.com> > > on 5 Jan 2007 03:45:38 -0800: [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > A "widget" is usually some kind of small tool or device or component, I > think? A technical thingummy, anyway. Much like "gizmo", which for me needs some mechanical complication. In fact, it's a lot like a contraption. My brother says "deal" and "dealybob" a lot (or used to). I picked up the latter from him; it amuses my students. "Mollyclobber" (from one of my college roommates) is probably just whimsy. I've never heard "doomyflop", JC. What we're trying to tell you, WS, is that there are a lot of choices for that shtoo. SignatureJerry Friedman >> > WS wrote, in <1167997538.437751.267410@51g2000cwl.googlegroups.com> >> > on 5 Jan 2007 03:45:38 -0800: [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > What we're trying to tell you, WS, is that there are a lot of choices > for that shtoo. My favourite, from childhood, was oujamaflip. SignatureRay UK -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am using the free version of SPAMfighter for private users. It has removed 1050 spam emails to date. Paying users do not have this message in their emails. Try SPAMfighter for free now! mUs1Ka wrote, in <zqnoh.27386$k74.23328@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk> on Mon, 08 Jan 2007 08:38:55 GMT: > >> > WS wrote, in <1167997538.437751.267410@51g2000cwl.googlegroups.com> > >> > on 5 Jan 2007 03:45:38 -0800: [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] > > My favourite, from childhood, was oujamaflip. That's in my vocabulary too, but starting with an aitch. SignatureNick Spalding > My favourite, from childhood, was oujamaflip. I remember that one. And I used to work with a Glaswegian, who always used "hoojacumpiff" (emphasis on first syllable). How about "gizmo"? Mike M Mike M filted: >> My favourite, from childhood, was oujamaflip. > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > >How about "gizmo"? Just don't get it wet, or feed it after midnight....r Signature"Keep your eye on the Bishop. I want to know when he makes his move", said the Inspector, obliquely. [the nine billion names of Doomyflop] > What we're trying to tell you, WS, is that there are a lot of > choices for that shtoo. Here is the Canadian military's contribution, the "pieceakit", fresh from the Toronto _Star_, at http://www.thestar.com/News/article/170952 : 'Meanwhile, the military's catchall term - roughly the equivalent of the civilian "thing" - is "piece of kit," which includes anything a soldier might expect to possess or carry. A floppy camouflage hat is a piece of kit, as is a pair of boots. A standard-issue weapon, such as a Browning 9mm pistol or a C7 automatic rifle, is most certainly a piece of kit. One day, a soldier here actually referred to one of the Canadian Forces' huge LAV land attack vehicles - an eight-wheeled, armour-plated behemoth with a Caterpillar engine and 25mm cannon - as "an excellent piece of kit." Don't leave home without one.' The entire enchilada is, similarly, the whole kit; and this expression has penetrated into non-military French slang, at least around Ottawa: "et pis tout l'kit" (and all, and everything). >[the nine billion names of Doomyflop] If we're onto SF allusions, how about allamagoosa? SignatureOn-line canal route planner: http://www.canalplan.org.uk (Waterways World site of the month, April 2001) My Reply-To address *is* valid, though likely to die soon In message <eodv7f$ksu$1@aioe.org>, CDB <bellemarec@sympatico.ca> writes >[the nine billion names of Doomyflop] > [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] >has penetrated into non-military French slang, at least around Ottawa: >"et pis tout l'kit" (and all, and everything). And the whole kit and caboodle is even more so. SignaturePaul In bocca al Lupo! >> [the nine billion names of Doomyflop] >> [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] >> > And the whole kit and caboodle is even more so. Ho, yes, 18th century, plus ça change. Some terrorist cell or other appears to have fled my brain with the boodle, and maybe the bilin' too. Nevertheless, having preponderatingly heard the French word from men, mostly under 50, I continue to believe it's a borrowing from military English. It's got that kind of cachet, is what. I agree that more observation is needed, so I will be listening closely to acquaintances in or late of the forces, hoping to catch one saying something like "Whaddayacall that pieceakit over there? > [the nine billion names of Doomyflop] > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > Don't leave home without one.' [...] "Pieceakit" as above is Br, and I think Aus, armyese too. SignatureMike. -- Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com >Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >Thanks in advance >Ed. Besides those identified in previous postings (thingummajig, doohickey, widget et al) there was one common in the idiolect of my schooldays (but not heard since IIRC) namely "doomyflop". Was this narrowly local or is it encountered elsewhere? Jitze > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > little something" we would like to use a word of universal meaning. I > wonder if such a word exist in English language. thing thingy thingamajig doohickey doodad what's-it-called whatchamacallit whatsit SignaturePosted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > Thanks in advance > Ed. Don't forget 'this' and 'that'. |
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