# Help me find the word I can't, er, ah, a, oh yes: remember **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 26, 2010, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-the-word-i-cant-er-ah-a-oh-yes-remember/537402 "2010-04-26T15:11:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-the-word-i-cant-er-ah-a-oh-yes-remember/537402/1 "2010-04-26T15:11:06Z")
At the age of 82, my memory is not too bad. However, is is not uncommon when talking, writing or thinking, the word I want escapes me completely. I have learned not to sweat it, as if I just keep going, and within 5-15 minutes the mystery word usually pops right back into my memory bank. If I ask my 80-year old wife, it drives it right out of her memory too, but often it will come back to her eventually. As the Russian proverb has it, “My memory is like a stupid dog that won’t come when you call it.” So, I’m trying to recall a word and it has been two days that it is right on the tip of my tongue, but won’t come at all. When one is going to sleep, or awakening, and is not really asleep or fully awake, he is in a \_\_\_\_\_\_\_state. What the hell is that word? And, of course, as soon as somebody tells me, I will :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-the-word-i-cant-er-ah-a-oh-yes-remember/537402/2 "2010-04-26T15:34:46Z")
fugue state? ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-the-word-i-cant-er-ah-a-oh-yes-remember/537402/3 "2010-04-26T15:35:45Z")
A hypnogogic state? ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4bbf92/32.png) [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-the-word-i-cant-er-ah-a-oh-yes-remember/537402/4 "2010-04-26T15:37:20Z")
[Somnolent](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somnolence) state? ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-the-word-i-cant-er-ah-a-oh-yes-remember/537402/5 "2010-04-26T15:48:29Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > fugue state? Thank you, **Tim,** that’s the one I was trying to recall. As I wrote, :smack: ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-the-word-i-cant-er-ah-a-oh-yes-remember/537402/6 "2010-04-26T15:51:47Z")
- shuffles out of thread muttering about show-offs and ungrateful so and so’s \* ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-the-word-i-cant-er-ah-a-oh-yes-remember/537402/7 "2010-04-26T15:54:51Z")
So close! I was going to suggest _tocatta_[.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toccata_and_Fugue_in_D_Minor) ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-the-word-i-cant-er-ah-a-oh-yes-remember/537402/8 "2010-04-26T16:02:02Z")
My vocabulary is starting to disintegrate but I can recall when I was a teenager, writing a letter to someone and writing “I am shore that I didn’t…” I immediately realised that I had spelled “shore” incorrectly but , for the life of me, I couldn’t think of another spelling. I sat around for ages trying to correct my error. This was pre-computers of course and, if you had no idea how to spell something, you couldn’t find it in a dictionary. Eventually after much agonizing I changed it to “I am **certain** that I didn’t…” but gee I felt like an idiot. However the memory now helps to ameliorate my feelings about my lapses of memory. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-the-word-i-cant-er-ah-a-oh-yes-remember/537402/9 "2010-04-26T16:27:39Z")
> [@KlondikeGeoff](#): > > Thank you, **Tim,** that’s the one I was trying to recall. > > As I wrote, :smack: Perhaps that’s the word you were trying to recall, but that’s not the definition of a fugue state. A fugue state is a type of psychiatric disorder, not just the state in between sleeping and wakefulness. ETA: [Definition of fugue state.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugue_state) > [@](#): > > A fugue state, formally Dissociative Fugue […] is a rare psychiatric disorder characterized by reversible amnesia for personal identity, including the memories, personality and other identifying characteristics of individuality. The state is usually short-lived (hours to days), but can last months or longer. Dissociative fugue usually involves unplanned travel or wandering, and is sometimes accompanied by the establishment of a new identity. ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-the-word-i-cant-er-ah-a-oh-yes-remember/537402/10 "2010-04-26T16:46:39Z")
I am 81 and have problems remembering peoples names. Yes, names that I have known for year, I just cannot remember in the moment, but later, I do remember them. For example, the names of movie stars are just beyond my reach, and sometimes names of some friends that I used to have. I think it is some kind of dementia because of my age. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-the-word-i-cant-er-ah-a-oh-yes-remember/537402/11 "2010-04-26T17:00:54Z")
So, in your forties, were you sharp as tacks? Cause my middle-aged husband and I sound like we’re doing worse in the memory department than you guys. Or do you just fall off a cliff in your forties and sort of level off for the rest of your life? (Please say “yes.” 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-the-word-i-cant-er-ah-a-oh-yes-remember/537402/12 "2010-04-26T17:27:22Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > So, in your forties, were you sharp as tacks? Cause my middle-aged husband and I sound like we’re doing worse in the memory department than you guys. Or do you just fall off a cliff in your forties and sort of level off for the rest of your life? (Please say “yes.” 🙂 ) Yeah, damn, I’m 34 and I forget people’s names all the time. Forgetting a celebrity’s name is not at all unusual or friends (more like acquaintances) I haven’t talked to in many years. If I don’t use the name, it quickly gets shuffled way back in the memory bank to make room for more recent information. ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-the-word-i-cant-er-ah-a-oh-yes-remember/537402/13 "2010-04-26T18:28:30Z")
> [@robcaro](#): > > I am 81 and have problems remembering peoples names. Yes, names that I have known for year, I just cannot remember in the moment, but later, I do remember them. For example, the names of movie stars are just beyond my reach, and sometimes names of some friends that I used to have. I think it is some kind of dementia because of my age. Ha! Movie stars. I will be trying to remember of one while talking to somebody, so I will then say, "You know, he starred in… Then, of course, I can’t recall the name of the movie either. Ah, well, at least we are still on the right side of the sod. You young whippersnappers have a few years before it gets worse. What I am really thankful for are spell checking programs. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-the-word-i-cant-er-ah-a-oh-yes-remember/537402/14 "2010-04-26T18:51:37Z")
There’s one particular movie star whose name I can never remember. Disturbing, as I was once sitting next to him in a restaurant. He was in that show about aliens, and in that movie about the kid who wanted to dance, and in that movie where he saw a man on the wing of a plane. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-the-word-i-cant-er-ah-a-oh-yes-remember/537402/15 "2010-04-26T18:55:53Z")
John Lithgow? > **[John Lithgow | Actor, Producer, Writer](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001475/)** > > Known for: The World According to Garp, Cliffhanger, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension Aliens show- Third Rock from Sun Dancing- Footloose Airplane- Twilight Zone Movie ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-the-word-i-cant-er-ah-a-oh-yes-remember/537402/16 "2010-04-26T19:05:08Z")
William Shatner? ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-the-word-i-cant-er-ah-a-oh-yes-remember/537402/17 "2010-04-26T21:10:38Z")
Maybe not the word you were trying to recall, but wouldn’t the correct word be _liminal_? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-the-word-i-cant-er-ah-a-oh-yes-remember/537402/18 "2010-04-26T21:31:14Z")
> [@Alan\_Smithee](#): > > Maybe not the word you were trying to recall, but wouldn’t the correct word be _liminal_? It might be, but [hypnagogia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnagogia) is the most commonly used term (in my experience) for the state between asleep and awake. **ivan** ’s answer is the correct one for definition given. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-the-word-i-cant-er-ah-a-oh-yes-remember/537402/19 "2010-04-26T21:32:14Z")
I recently was unable to recall Helen Keller’s name, and kept referring to Phyllis Diller. I think it was the double-L alliteration that caused my mindfail. ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-the-word-i-cant-er-ah-a-oh-yes-remember/537402/20 "2010-04-26T23:02:27Z")
I was all ready, based on the title, to come in here and say “aphasia.” Just sayin’. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-the-word-i-cant-er-ah-a-oh-yes-remember/537402.md?page=2)