# Doodlum

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doodlum/616049>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [March 17, 2012, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doodlum/616049 "2012-03-17T14:06:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doodlum/616049/1 "2012-03-17T14:06:03Z")

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Urban Dictionary doesn’t yet have a definition for the specific “word” _doodlum_ and the closest to the “word” I can find is [Doodly-squat](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Doodly-squat) which has very nearly the meaning I associate with “doodlum” or “doodlum squat” from my memory. Most likely the difference is regional at least if not just a variant in the town where I was a kid.

Just curious if anybody else can attest to the usage(s) of _doodlum_ in their own past.

Does anybody still use that “word”?

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**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doodlum/616049/2 "2012-03-17T14:21:23Z")

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I’ve never heard the word.

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**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doodlum/616049/3 "2012-03-17T14:26:23Z")

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> [@Khadaji](#):
>
> I’ve never heard the word.

Thanks. Do any of the Urban Dictionary “synonyms” ring a bell for you?

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**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doodlum/616049/4 "2012-03-17T15:12:13Z")

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In our area, it would be more common for me to hear _diddly squat_. But I cannot say 100% that I’ve never heard doodly squat.

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**Author:** ![Sal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58f4c7/32.png) [@Sal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doodlum/616049/5 "2021-12-10T21:18:38Z")

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I’m from the lower Appalachian hills which was primarily settled by Scots Irish. Doodlum squat and diddly squat were used quite often then. Some folks there still say it.

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**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doodlum/616049/6 "2021-12-10T21:27:46Z")

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“Doodlum” sounds like it would be a laid back leisure suit wearing hoodlum.

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**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doodlum/616049/7 "2021-12-10T23:01:58Z")

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My Mom used it a lot. She grew up in central NC and has lived in eastern TN since the late fifties.

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**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\
**Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doodlum/616049/8 "2021-12-11T18:33:29Z")

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> [@Czarcasm](#):
>
> “Doodlum” sounds like it would be a laid back leisure suit wearing hoodlum.

Or a graffiti artist - doodle + hoodlum