# Thingamajig, thingy, doofer, doodah, whatyemacallit, whatsit, thingamabob, ...



## lucozade

I went to England and I heared people saying 'thingy' on and off; what does that mean and what is the actual and right way to use that into language? or is it a slang?


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## Ecossaise

Can you give more context?  What were the people using this phrase talking about?


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## la reine victoria

<< ---- >>

Dear Lucozade,

<< ---- >>

"Thingy" is short for "thingamajig" or "thingamabob" and is used when the speaker is trying to remember the name of a (temporarily) forgotten thing.

Example: X has lost his pocket knife.

"Has anyone seen my thingy? I know I was using it not so long ago."


PS: Welcome to the forums.  




LRV


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## stranger in your midst

I wouldn't advise foreigners to use 'thingy'. It is not only slang but represents slovely language, often denoting a poor vocabularly. 'Something' is much more elegant, even if used as a substitute for a word you don't know.


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## panjandrum

I have never heard thingy used carelessly.
Many people will somewhat reluctantly say thingy when we don't know the name of whatever it it, or we have forgotten its name.


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## la reine victoria

stranger in your midst said:


> I wouldn't advise foreigners to use 'thingy'. It is not only slang but represents slovely language, often denoting a poor vocabularly. 'Something' is much more elegant, even if used as a substitute for a word you don't know.


 

I don't think one would hear someone saying, "Has anyone seen my something?"  

Equally commonly used is, "Where did I put my what's-its-name?"  Same meaning as "thingy".




LRV


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## stranger in your midst

My remark was perhaps coloured by my regional experience. In Scotland the word often used is 'hingmy', which is used as a noun, adjective or verb, usually by someone who doesn't know what they mean but expects you to know precisely, i.e. to be a mind reader of an imperfect mind, as in, 'Ah went tae see ma bank manager aboot the hingmy, an' he says tae me, jist hingmy it, an' ah wis that hingmy wi him, ah says tae masel, ah'm no gonnae hingmy, know whit ah mean, aye ?'...


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## Zeidan

Hi guys, 

I wonder what does this word mean "doodah", I've heard it from someone to mean something that you don't know its name.

Thanks


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## cuchuflete

"*Camptown Races*", sometimes referred to as *"Camptown Ladies"*, is a comic song in broad, stereotyped negro "dialect" by Stephen Foster, published in 1850 in _Foster's Plantation Melodies as sung by the Christy & Campbell Minstrels and New Orleans Serenaders, Written Composed and Arranged by Stephen C. Foster_ (Baltimore: F. D. Benteen; New Orleans: W. T. Mayo, 1850). Its official title was "*Gwine to Run All Night*", and is also known as "*De Camptown Races*".http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camptown_RacesDe


> Camptown ladies sing dis song,
> Doo-dah! doo-dah!
> De Camptown race-track five miles long, Oh, doo-dah day!
> I come down dah wid my hat caved in, Doo-dah! doo-dah!
> I go back home wid a pocket full of tin, Oh, doo-dah day!


This is the only use I am familiar with in AE.  Wait for BE speakers for more possibilities.


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## Matching Mole

The point is that it doesn't mean anything, it's a random bit of non-speech invented or picked up for the purpose of representing something that one cannot remember the name of. (Although the OED suggests it might have been picked up from the refrain of the American song "Camptown Races", this sounds folk etymology to me but who am I to argue with the OED?)

Variants are doodad and doohickey, but there are countless others based on other words or simply made up.


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## LouisaB

Hi, Zeidan,

It can certainly be used in that way in the UK, though it's perhaps more common these days for people to say 'thingy', 'thingummy', 'wotchermecallit', etc etc. 

It can also be used in song lyrics as a rhythmic filler, like 'la,la,la' or the French 'dondaine', most famously in 'Camptown Races' ('doodah, doodah day') or 'Zippedy-Doo-Dah'. There may be a more specific American meaning for it that's not listed in my dictionary.

It can also mean 'a state of agitation', as in the English phrase 'all of a doodah'.

Do you have any specific context for it?

Louisa


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## Zeidan

Thanks a lot, but do we have other words in English for this usage? I mean to refer to something you don't know or remember its name?


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## panjandrum

*Watchermacallit



*


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## AWordLover

Hi,

In AE, I think it is uncommon to refer to an unknown item as a doodah.
It would be more common to refer to a doodad, dohickey, thingy, whatchamacallit, widget, thingamajig, etc.


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## LaReinita

panjandrum said:


> *Watchermacallit*


 
I always thought it was spelled "whatchamacallit"

and also we say "thingamabobber"


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## panjandrum

LaReinita said:


> I always thought it was spelled "whatchamacallit"


So do the people who posted on the thread - but not the thread starter, apparently.


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## domkrat

So, about _thingamabob_ - how big could it be? 
And how heavy?

Suppose I have something that looks like a piece of pipe, about a meter long, not too heavy (can be held with both hands).
Would it be appropriate to call it _a thingamabob_?

Is this word still in use in AE/BE?

EDIT:
a_ thing_, a _thingamabob_ and a _thingamajig, ..._
Is there any difference in how *manly or childish *it sounds?
I need a word that would sound natural when coming from a hand worker, a construction worker etc.
For example: "Where the hell is that _thingamabob _I told you to bring here?!"


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## Thomas Tompion

domkrat said:


> So, about _thingamabob_ - how big could it be?
> And how heavy?
> 
> Suppose I have something that looks like a piece of pipe, about a meter long, not too heavy (can be held with both hands).
> Would it be appropriate to call it _a thingamabob_?
> 
> Is this word still in use in AE/BE?


It's a word I know in BE, and it just means something for which we can't remember the name, or for which no name exists. For this reason there are no restrictions on size or shape. I suspect that _thingummy_ is more suitable for something for which no name exists, and _thingamabob_ for something which has a name which we can't call to mind.

Your object sounds like a _cosh_.


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## LV4-26

How about _gizmo_(/gismo) ?


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## Paulfromitaly

Nowadays I always hear _thingy_ rather than thingamabob.


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## Topsie

One of my sister's favourite words is "dooberry"!!!


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## Thomas Tompion

In view of domkrat's second post (post 3) we clearly need an expression from the language of the people. 'Thingy', 'thingamabob', etc. seem to me rather middle-class expressions, and 'gismo' strikes me as too technical for something that looks like a piece of piping. What is the class register of Topsie's sister's 'dooberry', which was a new one on me?


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## domkrat

Thomas Tompion said:


> In view of domkrat's second post (post 3) we clearly need an expression from the language of the people.



Maybe I should use simply "that *fricking thing* / *damn thing*".

It's ok if it is a bit stronger language.


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## Nunty

Moderator note:

This thread is not looking for synonyms (which, of course, would be outside the forum scope), but for a definition...




> So, about _thingamabob_ - how big could it be?
> And how heavy?



...with emphasis on a word that


> would sound natural when coming from a hand worker, a construction worker etc.


Let's try not to go too far afield, please, and stick to the original poster's question, which has become:




> Maybe I should use simply "that *fricking thing* / *damn thing*".
> 
> It's ok if it is a bit stronger language.




Thank you.
Nun-Translator


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## Thomas Tompion

I'm not sure how we can look for a definition, with emphasis on a word that would sound natural when coming from a hand worker, a construction worker etc.  I just don't know what that means, Nun-Translator.


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## Nunty

Well, Thomas Tompion, that is what the original poster has asked for. Please feel free to contact me by PM.


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## cuchuflete

Thomas Tompion said:


> In view of domkrat's second post (post 3) we clearly need an expression from the language of the people.  'Thingy', 'thingamabob', etc. seem to me rather middle-class expressions, and 'gismo' strikes me as too technical for something that looks like a piece of piping.  What is the class register of Topsie's 'dooberry', which was a new one on me?



Thingamabob is certainly "an expression from the language of the people" in AE.
Whether "middle-class" excludes "the people" seems to be a matter of BE sociology.

To be plain, the fellows at the Bath Iron Works, shipbuilders, just down the coast from here, are certainly apt to use thingamabob.  

Gizmo or gismo, as I'm used to hearing it, normally refers to a device, rather than an object.  


The first post asked if thingamabob or thingamajib sound especially manly or childish.
In AE they do not sound particularly childish or manly.



> Suppose I have something that looks like a piece of pipe, about a meter long, not too heavy (can be held with both hands).
> Would it be appropriate to call it _a thingamabob_?  Yes, in AE it would be appropriate.
> 
> Is this word still in use in AE/BE?   It is in use in AE.
> 
> EDIT:
> a_ thing_, a _thingamabob_ and a _thingamajig, ..._
> Is there any difference in how *manly or childish *it sounds? No.
> I need a word that would sound natural when coming from a hand worker, a construction worker etc.  In AE both would sound natural from such a person.
> For example: "Where the hell is that _thingamabob _I told you to bring here?!"


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## cuchuflete

domkrat said:


> Maybe I should use simply "that *fricking thing* / *damn thing*".
> 
> It's ok if it is a bit stronger language.



Domkrat, you have yet to tell use anything about the setting, the mood of the speaker, who he speaking to, and the tone he wishes to convey.  Without such background and context, we can only guess whether these suggestions are, to use your term, appropriate.  

As Thomas pointed out clearly in post #2, thingamabob is used for an object whose name you don't know or recall, or which lacks a precise name.  Does the speaker not know the name?  Does the object lack a name?  Is he just pissed off at the world or at the person he is talking to?

Fricking or damn thing carry a lot of emotional overtones not generally present when one calls something a thingamabob.  They sound angry.  There is nothing angry about thingambob.


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## Thomas Tompion

cuchuflete said:


> Domkrat, you have yet to tell use anything about the setting, the mood of the speaker, who he speaking to, and the tone he wishes to convey. Without such background and context, we can only guess whether these suggestions are, to use your term, appropriate.
> 
> As Thomas pointed out clearly in post #2, thingamabob is used for an object whose name you don't know or recall, or which lacks a precise name. Does the speaker not know the name? Does the object lack a name? Is he just pissed off at the world or at the person he is talking to?
> 
> Fricking or damn thing carry a lot of emotional overtones not generally present when one calls something a thingamabob. They sound angry. There is nothing angry about thingambob.


In BE neither, Cuchu.  It would be quite inappropriate to call something a _bloody thingamabob_.  You'd need a shorter, less playful, word: a _bloody thing_ would be possible, and is common, though it hasn't much of a ring.


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## panjandrum

domkrat said:


> So, about _thingamabob_ - how big could it be?
> And how heavy?
> 
> Suppose I have something that looks like a piece of pipe, about a meter long, not too heavy (can be held with both hands).
> Would it be appropriate to call it _a thingamabob_?
> 
> Is this word still in use in AE/BE?
> 
> EDIT:
> a_ thing_, a _thingamabob_ and a _thingamajig, ..._
> Is there any difference in how *manly or childish *it sounds?
> I need a word that would sound natural when coming from a hand worker, a construction worker etc.
> For example: "Where the hell is that _thingamabob _I told you to bring here?!"


Thing, thingy, thingamabob, thingamajig - and many others - are used in BE.  Of those listed there is no sense for me of being adult or childish.
Any of them might be used by a manual worker or construction worker.

Looking at the specific context, though, I can't imagine any such term being used.  It would, surely, be bizarre in that context for the speaker not to use the proper term for whatever it is.


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## Loob

Personally, I would find it odd in, say, a UK TV script if a construction worker said "where the hell is that thingummybob/jig I told you to bring?". Thingummybob/jig sounds a bit "jolly" in my version of BrE - rather Julie-Andrews-as-_Mary-Poppins_ - so there's an awkward contrast with the more violent "where the hell?"  And as panj says, the speaker would surely use the proper term.

I agree with cuchu: we need more background and context


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## domkrat

So, this thingummubob-issue turned out to be rather controversial, it seems.
I'm sorry for the confusion I have created.

And thank you all for the replies!



Loob said:


> Thingummybob/jig sounds a bit "jolly" in my version of BrE - rather Julie-Andrews-as-_Mary-Poppins_ - so there's an awkward contrast with the more violent "where the hell?"


Thanks, Loob! That pretty much answers my question.


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## Thomas Tompion

I'm not trying to be offensive, but I wonder if Loob has in mind a simply dreadful song with words which go something like:

Salagadoola means mechicka booleroo
But the thingmabob that does the job is
bibbidi-bobbidi-boo


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## JamesM

The thing that seems odd to me is to look for a vague word to be used by a professional. The people I have known who work with their hands (auto mechanics, drill operators, carpenters) are very precise when they refer to anything that is a tool or part they use on the job. In fact, it's one of the ways they quickly distinguish between someone who knows what they are doing and a total amateur like me.

The premise of the situation seems unbelievable.  It makes it difficult for me to imagine a "natural" word.


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## cuchuflete

domkrat said:


> So, this thingummubob-issue turned out to be rather controversial, it seems.
> _* I'm sorry for the confusion I have created.
> *_



True remorse might be accompanied by a little context.  
Better late than never.

There is no controversy here.  Confusion?  Yes, but background and context usually alleviate it quickly.


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## domkrat

JamesM said:


> The thing that seems odd to me is to look for a vague word to be used by a professional


It was neither a tool, nor a part. It was exactly what I said it was in the opening post:


> *"something* that looks like a piece of pipe, about a meter long"


What would "a professional" call this *something*, which is neither a tool, nor a part?
There is not much of a context behind it, really. 
The usual "stock" answers: this thing, this damn thing, bloody thing, etc.
I just wanted to explore a little bit the area of thingies and thingamabobs.

Well, anyway. I think that _Thomas Tompion_'s, _cuchuflete_'s and _Loob_'s replies answered my questions.
Thanks!


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## kalamazoo

I would suggest just using the word "thing," perhaps preceded by an expletive.


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## JamesM

kalamazoo said:


> I would suggest just using the word "thing," perhaps preceded by an expletive.


 

Now THAT would sound natural to me.


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## Hole

HI!
What is a thing-a-ma-jigger? I heard it in a cartoon when some guy's car breaks down. He goes to see what it is, opens the hood and says: "It's just a thing-a-ma-jigger". Which part of a car is it and is there any other name for it, because I can't find this one in a bilingual dictionary?

Thanks.


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## ewie

Hi Hole.  It's the same as one of *these*.


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## bibliolept

Just for the sake of reference, I'll add that "thingamajig" and "thingamabob" are far more common nowadays than "thing-a-ma-jigger."


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## Hole

So, it's not any particular part of the engine, right? It's _something._


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## Hole

Ok, I think it's a little clearer now. Thanks to all of you!


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## Juan Nadie

Hello,

I've just come across this word, and after looking up the meaning of it, I just would like to know if it is a colloquial, formal (not very, but something?), used word. Maybe others are more widely spread, such as gizmo, but even so, would you use thingumajig without concerns or if someone says (writes) that he would be looked at like... well, like what?

Of course, any and all contributions are welcomed.

Cheers.


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## manon33

Yes, it is very colloquial, and less specific than 'gizmo', which means a neat little device/tool (although there is a hint of 'toys for boys' about it!).  A 'thingummyjig' can be any object, usually (but not always) man-made.  People employ this word when they are very tired and cannot remember the name of something.


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## Poca Cosa

It's very informal.  I've usually seen it spelled "thingamajig" but since it's a made-up word, I don't suppose it matters all that much.

It's a relatively common word, used in place of the actual name of the item you can't remember.

e.g.  Bobby plays with that thingamajig all day long.  (The speaker can't remember the name of the toy Bobby plays with).


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## iconoclast

A 'thingumajig' is one of the variants on one of the two most important nouns in the English language, namely 'thing' for countable nouns, the other being 'stuff' for uncountable ones. Following are the "'thing' words" that immediately spring to mind, to which others can add:

thingie, thingumebob, whatsit, whatyamacallit, whatnot,.....


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## sdgraham

Note that thingamajigs have different spellings and sometimes are called thingamabobs.

It seems to me that these terms are used in colloquial speech, rather than writings.


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## cuchuflete

*thingamabob - how heavy and how big?  (Ahhh... some wise mod has incorporated that thread into this one!  )*

There is some interesting background in that thread.  It's not a formal word, but not apt to raise eyebrows in anything other than the most formal settings.


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## mplsray

iconoclast said:


> A 'thingumajig' is one of the variants on one of the two most important nouns in the English language, namely 'thing' for countable nouns, the other being 'stuff' for uncountable ones. Following are the "'thing' words" that immediately spring to mind, to which others can add:
> 
> thingie, thingumebob, whatsit, whatyamacallit, whatnot,.....



As a result of the new thread on this subject which I read yesterday (which has since been merged into this older thread), I asked a friend of mine what word she would use for an item she needed to talk about even though she could not think of its name right then. Her answer, "Thingamajig[/I].

Later on, when we were at a bookstore and she was buying a book with a coupon which needed to be accompanied by that store's loyalty card, I told her, "You need to use the whatchamacallit." This was my spontaneous answer, not something which I had to take any time to consider, although I, too, have on occasion certainly said "thingamajig."


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## Ritoha

Hi, to everybody,
My step mother-in-law once had a conversation with her husband (in the kitchen) where she used only the words "thingamebob" and "wotsit". He then went to a drawer below a wall cupboard, got out an item and handed it to his wife. We all stood there in amazement and when his son asked "how did you know what she wanted and where it was?" his father replied " she just told me!"
We still fall about laughing when it gets mentioned, even 20 years later.


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## Prower

What words should be used when you forget the right word?

*1) Could you give more word?*

I know only one: 

​*thingummy​**
​*2) Some person told me that *lethologica *can also be used. But I looked it up and it means 
​*
​*the inability to remember a word or put your finger on the right word
*
I guess it can't be used instead of thingummy.​**

​*


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## Ex-editor

Some alternatives to thingummy: whatsit, doovalackey, whatsername, jigger,... and many more, sometimes some are quite local to a region or specific to a context.


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## Prower

thingamajig, whatchamacallit


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## Brioche

There are various words people use when they can't think of a word.

They include: oojamaflip, doodad, gizmo, whatsit, whatsaname, whatever-it-is , whatchamacallit, thingamabob, thingy, thingummy, thingummyjig.

_To fix this little oojamaflip, you put this doodad into the thingy here, and turn it to the left with that gizmo._


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## LilianaB

I have only heard whatsaname and whatever-it-is, which is not to say that the other words are not being used somewhere.


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## Brioche

LilianaB said:


> I have only heard whatsaname and whatever-it-is, which is not to say that the other words are not being used somewhere.



Gizmo and Doodad are both in the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

A couple of years ago, the New York Times had an on-line discussion about such words. It went on for 17 pages.
 Oojamaflip got a mention, and also Dohickey, plus many variations on _whats....._ and  _thing...._.


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## ewie

Thread merged with a previous one.

English is quite rich in name-unknown terms: this is a summary of the ones mentioned so far in this thread (not all spelling variants are given):

_thing, thingy, thingamajig, thing-a-ma-jigger, thingamabob, thingamabobber, thingummy
whatsit, wotsit, whatnot, what's-its-name, wotchermecallit, watchermacallit, whatchamacallit
doodad, doodah, dooberry, dohickey, doohickey
gizmo, gismo _[generally reserved for mechanical devices]_
widget
_

P.S. Not mentioned above, but one of my favourites, is _jobbie_.


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## Copyright

Prower said:


> What words should be used when you forget the right word?


I throw the ball into the other person's court: _And then you attached the detonator to the ... you-know._ 

And let them supply the word.


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## Disneyesque

Well.. I didn't know it could be a 'chat'. Just wanted to know if the word 'thingamabob' and 'gizmo' can be stagey for someone, reminding particular song(s). (I won't mention about what exactly it is, because you think it is out of scope ) I want to use the words because they are pretty for me, as the words are from the lovely characters I adore. 

And is there no formal words in the series of the words? There are some times when you need such words, like, in front of the professor or an old man I should respect.. I think we would get embarrassed if I use 'thingy' or some other synonyms on the title..  In my opinion, though 'whatchamacallit' is funny to be spelt, it won't be that bad to use, for It would be pronounced very fast...


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## JustKate

princess_cm said:
			
		

> Well.. I didn't know it could be a 'chat'. Just wanted to know if the word 'thingamabob' and 'gizmo' can be stagey for someone, reminding particular song(s). (I won't mention about what exactly it is, because you think it is out of scope
> 
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> And is there no formal words in the series of the words? There are some times when you need such words, like, in front of the professor or an old man I should respect.. I think we would get embarrassed if I use 'thingy' or some other synonyms on the title..
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> In my opinion, though 'whatchamacallit' is funny to be spelt, it won't be that bad to use, for It would be pronounced very fast...



What all these words indicate is "I can't remember the name of the...the...the..._thing_." There's nothing embarassing about the words except that they clearly indicate that you can't think of the real word for the item, whatever it is. If this is embarassing, your only option is to fill in with something else, something vague. What? Well, it depends on what you're talking about. It could be "piece," or "unit" or "device"...there are lots of options. But if you have to admit that you don't know the word, there's nothing shameful about doohicky, doodah or (my personal favorite) "googie."


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## Disneyesque

I see. In my mother tongue, many words I can think of for 'the... the thing' are funny words that are hesitated to be said. Or very, very informal words that are shunned to be used, let alone shunned on the podium. As I can remember there is only one or two that can be generally acceptable even in a formal situation. However, varients are hesitated to use... They're little vulgar for me. To directly interpret one of them into English, it can mean bollocks as well. So I thought all the words on the title can be somehow funny and embarrassing to use in a formal situation. But it is not- I want to use 'googie'. It's cute.


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## JustKate

They are informal. There is no formal way that I know of to admit that you can't remember the name of something, except "I'm so sorry but I just can't remember the name for this device here" (or something along those lines). They are all, to at least some degree, informal and jokey. But there's nothing risque about any of them.


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## kalamazoo

There is no formal word for something whose name you don't know, as far as I am aware.  You would really have to use the closest equivalent that you could come up with if you wanted to be formal.  For instance if you can't remember scanner you could say 'the equipment that allows you to make electronic copies of paper documents' or something like that.  You could use a generic word like "apparatus" or just be explicit and say "I can't remember the name of this device/object"


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## Disneyesque

Thanks. And how are 'thingamabob' and 'gizmo'? I can't understand somebody think they are of 'middle-class'. (Does it mean opposite to high one? Here it means 'average people'. If it means average ones as well, it would be an redundancy.) It can make person opposite amusing as recall some Disney numbers, but I have no idea about it.


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## panjandrum

princess_cm said:


> Thanks. And how are 'thingamabob' and 'gizmo'? I can't understand somebody think they are of 'middle-class'. (Does it mean opposite to high one? Here it means 'average people'. If it means average ones as well, it would be an redundancy.) It can make person opposite amusing as recall some Disney numbers, but I have no idea about it.


These words may remind someone of Disney if that's where they first came across them, but for native speakers that is simply one particular example of their use.

I think the point is made a long way back in the thread, but a reminder ... words like these are not only used when you have forgotten the name of something.  They are very often used when you have no idea what the thing is called but you need to refer to it.


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