# Names for common things we see every day that people may not know the name to. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 21, 2005, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648 "2005-09-21T02:52:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/21 "2005-09-21T05:06:41Z")
> [@Harimad-sol](#): > > _Ophryon_ (as I found it spelled) wasn’t in Big Red (my hardback Merriam-Webster’s) but both the Oxford English Dictionary online and [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) say it’s the space right above the glabella. That figures. I won’t describe this well, but the pattern of raised and lowered space castle walls and towers is called [crenellation](http://images.google.com/images?q=crenellation&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi). ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/22 "2005-09-21T05:07:42Z")
…not something most of us see every day, but something I bet people have seen lots of times without knowing the name. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/23 "2005-09-21T05:23:01Z")
The slash mark is a virgule / A sentence that ends with a question and exclamation point ends in an Interrobang!? (I also love the Doper’s name of this venue) And I THINK that THIS thing ^ is a caret. I may have the name off or misspelled though. Can anyone help me out on the exact names of these other grammer and punctuation signs/marks? § @ & - (I know it’s not a “dash”, I heard it called another thing before but can’t remember) Ç Æ ¥ ƒ ¿ ß Σ ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/24 "2005-09-21T05:31:01Z")
ß - I don’t know if this has any other name, but it’s a capital beta. Σ - Likewise, this is a capital sigma. The bit of skin covered cartelege in front of the ear hole is called the _tragus_. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/25 "2005-09-21T05:34:29Z")
> [@Idle Thoughts](#): > > Can anyone help me out on the exact names of these other grammer and punctuation signs/marks? > > § > @ > & > > - (I know it’s not a “dash”, I heard it called another thing before but can’t remember) > Ç > Æ > ¥ > ƒ > ¿ > ß > Σ These are off the top of my head–not sure about the others at the moment. @ - “at sign” & - ampersand - - are you thinking of “hyphen”? Ç - cedilla Æ - ligature ß - Beta Σ - Sigma ---
**Author:** ![Hung\_Mung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hung\_Mung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hung_Mung)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/26 "2005-09-21T05:57:46Z")
> [@Xixox](#): > > One of my favorite anagrams that most people use without knowing what it means: > > TWAIN (the interface used to capture image data from a scanner or other input device) is… Technology Without An Interesting Name You mean an acronym. I’ll go away now. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/27 "2005-09-21T06:22:29Z")
> [@lavenderlemon](#): > > Your frenulum is the piece of skin that attaches your tongue to the bottom of your mouth. You have several frenulums, the definition being, “a connecting fold or membrane supporting or restraining a (body) part.” You have one between your front teeth, top and bottom connecting you buccal membrane. Men have one connecting the scrotum front and back. There are more, but i can’t think of them at the moment. The little half-moon on your fingernail is the lunule ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/28 "2005-09-21T06:29:52Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I came in here to mention aglets, but I forgot what they were called, as I always do when I want to remember that. Shit. Good work on your part, **Idle Thoughts**. I’ve got you beat, I came into the thread specifically to mention aglets, and I remembered!! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/29 "2005-09-21T06:36:50Z")
> [@Kiminy](#): > > One of my favorite words is “dongle”. It refers to a wire used to connect an ethernet cable to a PC card in a laptop computer. Actually, any little connecty-thingy like that. For instance there used to be applications that required you to plug a special device into the parallel port of a PC before they’d run, which were called dongles. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/30 "2005-09-21T06:40:50Z")
> [@Idle Thoughts](#): > > The pound sign (#) is an Octothorpe. Erm, [nope](http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-oct1.htm), Octothorpe is a joke made-up name It’s usually called the pound sign in the US (I believe becuase it occupies the position on a US typewriter keyboard that the actual Pound sign does on a UK one), and the hash elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/31 "2005-09-21T06:45:28Z")
Those little silver sugar balls used in cooking are called argentees. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/32 "2005-09-21T06:46:14Z")
> [@](#): > > Ophryon (as I found it spelled) wasn’t in Big Red (my hardback Merriam-Webster’s) but both the Oxford English Dictionary online and [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) say it’s the space right above the glabella. Merriam-Webster’s? The OED? This isn’t liberal arts; this is science! [Biology Online](http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/ophryon) - “the supraorbital point” [eLook](http://www.elook.org/dictionary/ophryon.html) - “the craniometric point in the midline of the forehead immediately above the orbits” [Dorland’s Medical Dictionary](http://www.mercksource.com/pp/us/cns/cns_hl_dorlands.jspzQzpgzEzzSzppdocszSzuszSzcommonzSzdorlandszSzdorlandzSzdmd_o_04zPzhtm) - “the middle point of the transverse supraorbital line” Now granted, I have no idea what any of these definitions mean. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/33 "2005-09-21T06:50:54Z")
> [@Hunter Hawk](#): > > @ - “at sign” While it’s referred to as this all the time, I read another “actual” name for it somewhere, but don’t remember it. > [@](#): > > - > - are you thinking of “hyphen”? No…it was another word. Maybe I’m thinking of another sort of dash…er…is there another name for one that’s two dashes long? --? Thank you for the other names, though. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/34 "2005-09-21T07:20:18Z")
Two dashes long is an emdash. It’s actually one long dash (I think) but approximated with two short dashes in a pinch. All the “dashes” I can think of off the top of my head: Hyphen Minus sign Endash (width of a capital N) Emdash (width of a capital M) Underscore I probably missed a few, but I bet someone will be along soon with something better. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/35 "2005-09-21T07:23:23Z")
YES…that’s it…Emdash. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/36 "2005-09-21T07:29:06Z")
> [@Idle Thoughts](#): > > The dot above the lowercase i and j? They’re called tittles. Of course I knew that. Matt 5:18 “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” God told me. ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/37 "2005-09-21T09:15:50Z")
> [@csharpmajor](#): > > Those little silver sugar balls used in cooking are called argentees. Hmmm… I always called these _dragees_. Unless we’re thinking of two different things? I’m thinking of those little silver balls used as decorations on cakes and cookies… ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/38 "2005-09-21T09:19:32Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#): > > ß - I don’t know if this has any other name, but it’s a capital beta. Actually, a capital beta is B. That is a german sz ligature, called “eszet” or “scharfes s.” > [@Idle Thoughts](#): > > The slash mark is a virgule / I believe a common slash mark (like this – /) is a “solidus” – a “virgule” is somewhat shorter. [On preview: it seems I can’t show you a virgule like I wanted to. The solidus showing here actually looks like a virgule – most solidus characters extend below the baseline.] For the others: § is a section mark @ = “at” or “commercial at” & = ampersand - hyphen – endash — emdash (I don’t know if those will show up properly for everyone – I’m using a Mac 🙂 ) Ç = capital C cedilla. The cedilla is the little tail below. Æ = capital ae diphthong. You also get æ = a small ae diphthong. A ligature is properly any two characters joined together to make them look nicer when typesetting. (Another two examples I’m not sure will show up: ? and ?) [On preview: they don’t – I was after the fi and fl ligatures] ¥ = Yen symbol ¿ = inverted question mark. No doubt the Spanish have a word for it. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/39 "2005-09-21T10:06:23Z")
æ is an “ash”. The cardboard tube in the middle of a toilet roll is a “trollo”. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/40 "2005-09-21T10:27:55Z")
> [@Anastasaeon](#): > > Hmmm… I always called these _dragees_. Unless we’re thinking of two different things? I’m thinking of those little silver balls used as decorations on cakes and cookies… Oh, I dunno, I read it when I was 10 or so in one of those trivia books. After Googling, I’m thinking they might have just made it up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648.md?page=3)