# Common actions or objects we have no word for **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 20, 2014, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-actions-or-objects-we-have-no-word-for/691234 "2014-06-20T19:04:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-actions-or-objects-we-have-no-word-for/691234/41 "2014-06-23T06:59:19Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > 34 posts in and I’m the first to suggest “procreate” as a normal, nonscientific way to say “baby making?” If anything, baby making has TOO MANY words to describe that act. We just all preferred the f-word or boning and didn’t care if there was another. ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-actions-or-objects-we-have-no-word-for/691234/42 "2014-06-23T07:02:27Z")
Any unwanted residue from eye, ear or skin on the face is facemegma. Pronounce it “face smegma”. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-actions-or-objects-we-have-no-word-for/691234/43 "2014-06-23T07:12:23Z")
This thread is getting hijacked by people talking about the fact we have no non-taboo words for taboo things (which is inherent) when the topic is “things we have no word for” We have heaps of words that mean sex and defecation but those subjects are taboo. Consequently, any word we use for those actions will be euphemistic, impolite or highly formal. If you were to think of a new word for those things intending it to be non-euphemistic, polite and informal, it would come to be seen as impolite, because it isn’t polite to talk about taboo things. This is not a feature of the words, it is a feature of the subject matter, and consequently entirely unavoidable. But the fact that we have no polite/non-euphemistic/informal words for such subjects does not mean that we have no words for them. So they don’t fit the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-actions-or-objects-we-have-no-word-for/691234/44 "2014-06-23T11:54:01Z")
What about that thing we do when we want to imply that someone is nuts, and so we use our finger to flap our lips, making a b-b-b-b-b-b-b sound? I’ve tried to find an example on YouTube before, but what do you search? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-actions-or-objects-we-have-no-word-for/691234/45 "2014-06-23T13:52:08Z")
I’d love to see the archaic word “hurple” make a comeback: The act of hunching up one’s shoulders in reaction to fear or cold. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-actions-or-objects-we-have-no-word-for/691234/46 "2014-06-23T14:11:44Z")
I think we need a single-word expression for the opposite of being “in a hurry” or “in a rush.” Like when you have a whole lot of time to kill. So instead of saying “I’m in a rush,” you can say “I’m in a \_\_\_,” meaning the opposite of being in a rush (you’re trying to find ways to kill time.) ---
**Author:** ![carlotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@carlotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlotta)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-actions-or-objects-we-have-no-word-for/691234/47 "2014-06-23T14:31:43Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > We have no common yet non-vulgar verb for the act of baby-making. > > We have a noun: Coitus. But that’s a noun, not a verb; it’s also very clinical sounding – something scientists would write in their peer-reviewed research reports. > > We have a verb: Copulate. But that’s also clinical, also to be used in research reports or possibly at the doctor’s office. > > We have a whole slew of crude and/or colloquial verbs, of varying degrees of crudeness. > > And we have a variety of multi-word, often euphemistic verb phrases like “making love” or “having sex”. > > But where’s a good, inoffensive, non-gutter-jargon but also non-cold-and-scientific one-word verb? I think “have sex” really is what we use for this. It pings pretty “non-vulgar” to me. As **Princhester** pointed out the subject is weighted so it’s pretty hard to unweight it no matter what the verb, but “have sex” comes the closest to being unambiguous, unshocking and unclinical. If I had to tell a doctor about something concerning that happened while having sex that’s how I would say it. I wouldn’t say “While my husband and I were copulating…” or “procreating…” or “fucking…” I guess you don’t like that it needs a helping verb but lots of verbs do. ---
**Author:** ![HipGnosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/76d3ee/32.png) [@HipGnosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HipGnosis)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-actions-or-objects-we-have-no-word-for/691234/48 "2014-06-23T15:51:35Z")
Meeting and/or getting to know someone online, Email, etc. - in which you haven’t literally ‘met’ each other. Subsequently, the opinion you form of someone from their ‘persona’ that you perceive from their posts in a message board or social media. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-actions-or-objects-we-have-no-word-for/691234/49 "2014-06-23T16:26:24Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > I think we need a single-word expression for the opposite of being “in a hurry” or “in a rush.” Like when you have a whole lot of time to kill. So instead of saying “I’m in a rush,” you can say “I’m in a \_\_\_,” meaning the opposite of being in a rush (you’re trying to find ways to kill time.) Why? You already found a great expression to use. If you say “I am killing time”, that’s four words, the same as “I am in a \_\_\_”. This thread does seem a bit concerned with having a single word for something. Sometimes, our names for things involve a couple of words. That’s just language for you. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-actions-or-objects-we-have-no-word-for/691234/50 "2014-06-23T16:34:11Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > Why? You already found a great expression to use. If you say “I am killing time”, that’s four words, the same as “I am in a \_\_\_”. > > This thread does seem a bit concerned with having a single word for something. Sometimes, our names for things involve a couple of words. That’s just language for you. You have a good point there. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-actions-or-objects-we-have-no-word-for/691234/51 "2014-06-23T16:45:57Z")
> [@freckafree](#): > > Friends told me that in one African language, there is a noun for the parents of your child’s spouse. I think we need that word in English. Thai has a single-syllable word for this, an example that popped into my head when I saw thread title. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-actions-or-objects-we-have-no-word-for/691234/52 "2014-06-23T16:49:44Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > You have a good point there. Thanks. I also can’t count, BTW. “I am in a _ **" is \*five \*words, versus four in “I am killing time”. Meaning that you can even have “I am \*just \*killing time” for the same number of words, which is even better. Although, depending on how long your hypothetical "** _” is, you might yourself save a syllable there. Still doesn’t seem worth it, though. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-actions-or-objects-we-have-no-word-for/691234/53 "2014-06-23T17:02:51Z")
I’m in a lull. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-actions-or-objects-we-have-no-word-for/691234/54 "2014-06-23T17:39:42Z")
Here’s another “action” one. If we want to visually indicate that something or someone is a bit screwy, unbelievable or otherwise off — the action equivalent of “Oh, brother!” — we say “rolling one’s eyes.” But we don’t have an equivalent phrase for the action of quickly pointing one’s eyes to the side to subtly indicate (to the observer) the unexpected or unknown presence of someone else in the room. Say I come through the door of my friend’s house MF-ing loudly over some misfortune that has befallen me, but I don’t realize that my friend’s grandmother is in the front parlor. My friend doesn’t want to be so obvious as to make a sound or a gesture to shush me, but does a quick movement of his eyes in the direction of his grandmother. What’s that called? ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-actions-or-objects-we-have-no-word-for/691234/55 "2014-06-23T18:33:40Z")
> [@DChord568](#): > > Say I come through the door of my friend’s house MF-ing loudly over some misfortune that has befallen me, but I don’t realize that my friend’s grandmother is in the front parlor. My friend doesn’t want to be so obvious as to make a sound or a gesture to shush me, but does a quick movement of his eyes in the direction of his grandmother. > > What’s that called? Looking askance ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-actions-or-objects-we-have-no-word-for/691234/56 "2014-06-23T20:06:39Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > Looking askance I did find one dictionary that gives a secondary definition of “askance” as sideways. But I’ve never heard this term used without the implication of disapproval or suspicion being a part of it. That would not really be the case in my scenario, where the sideways glance would simply be an alert signal. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-actions-or-objects-we-have-no-word-for/691234/57 "2014-06-23T20:10:54Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > Thanks. I also can’t count, BTW. “I am in a _ **" is \*five \*words, versus four in “I am killing time”. Meaning that you can even have “I am \*just \*killing time” for the same number of words, which is even better. Although, depending on how long your hypothetical "** _” is, you might yourself save a syllable there. Still doesn’t seem worth it, though. 😛 “I’m killing time” is just 3 words (if “I’m” is one word.) > [@drewtwo99](#): > > I’m in a lull. > > 🙂 Hmm, that might work. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-actions-or-objects-we-have-no-word-for/691234/58 "2014-06-24T19:33:35Z")
> [@HipGnosis](#): > > Meeting and/or getting to know someone online, Email, etc. - in which you haven’t literally ‘met’ each other. E-cquainted. > [@HipGnosis](#): > > Subsequently, the opinion you form of someone from their ‘persona’ that you perceive from their posts in a message board or social media. E-steem. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-actions-or-objects-we-have-no-word-for/691234/59 "2014-06-24T21:04:11Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > E-cquainted. > > E-steem. Or, if in the Pit, E-steam. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-actions-or-objects-we-have-no-word-for/691234/60 "2014-06-24T21:07:04Z")
> [@DChord568](#): > > I did find one dictionary that gives a secondary definition of “askance” as sideways. > > But I’ve never heard this term used without the implication of disapproval or suspicion being a part of it. That would not really be the case in my scenario, where the sideways glance would simply be an alert signal. Right, but it’s an alert signal that you’re disapproving of the behavior at the moment, it’s kind of an interesting blend of the two definitions, IMO. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-actions-or-objects-we-have-no-word-for/691234.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-actions-or-objects-we-have-no-word-for/691234.md?page=4)