Okay. This is truly mundane, but may not be as pointless as it sounds. We’ll just have to see, okay?
Years ago, let’s say 20, a work buddy pointed out to me that the name for the cardboard tube inside a roll of toilet paper or paper towels or wrapping paper or any other commodity of that type, was a “durder.” Since this was spoken I have no real idea of how it would be spelled if it were an actual name for that sort of thing. The spelling is less important than the name itself.
Have any of you ever heard such a thing?
When I asked him to explain the name (which he was obviously anxious for me to do) he held one such item up to his mouth and imitated that little bugle-like tune they play at ball games before yelling “Charge!” or “Go!” or the like. You know, it goes “dur-dur-dur-dur-dur-dur.”
This wouldn’t have risen to the level of a semi-serious post if my wife hadn’t just surprised me by sticking her head in the room and doing the “dur dur” tune at me and nearly scaring me into a heart attack.
I’m going with four so far: Paul, me, my wife, your work-buddy David.
Should that number go up to five because you at least heard the term before?
Somewhere I’ve seen lists for the names for things that you wouldn’t think had names. Stuff like “aglet” for that do-funny on the end of a shoelace and “punt” for that dent at the bottom of a wine bottle.
But I have never heard a name for a durder except durder. Maybe I’m just poorly informed.
Those were the very ones I was going to mention, which I read in **The Book of Lists ** as a kid. “Chad” was on there too, so I very felt smug (“I’ve been using that term for years”) when the scandal broke a few years ago.
Here someone mentions “dur-dur” as a Sniglet:
“I remember “durdur” /dur’ dur/ - the last square of toilet paper on a roll, then you take the empty roll, put it to your mouth and say dur dur dur dur.”
Here says Sniglet too:“1. Durdur. That is what the empty cardboard piece is called that held the tim foil, bathroom tissue, paper towels. Everyone knows you put it to your lips and go…” dur-dur dur-dur-dur-dur."
I’ve heard it called a dur-dur, too. Seems to me I read it in a book called The Child’s Garden of Grass. It described the sound you make. It also told how to make a pipe out of one!
That’s okay. Just name something that just you and a few friends have a name for. With the luck this thread is having, somebody will know just what you’re talking about!
