# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/61 "2005-09-22T00:35:47Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > **Treasury Tags** > > Seems to be a British thing maybe? I’ve never heard of them either. > > Here’s some info tho, with pics: > [The tyranny of the treasury tag. - WordRidden](http://www.wordridden.com/journal.php/20050825005227.xml) Thanks! I’ve never seen those before, so no wonder I was confused 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kiminy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Kiminy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiminy)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/62 "2005-09-22T01:29:31Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#): > > ß - I don’t know if this has any other name, but it’s a capital beta. In German, ß is an etset, used as a shorthand for double s. The word for “white” can be spelled either _weiß_ or _weiss_. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/63 "2005-09-22T01:45:03Z")
You know the fog you see that comes out of a hot shower? Or the fog that rises from a pot of boiling water? _ **Everyone** _ calls it “steam.” It is _not_ steam! Steam is invisible. If you can _see_ it, it ain’t steam! It is a **mist** … 😉 ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/64 "2005-09-22T17:55:32Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > The cardboard tube in the middle of a toilet roll is a “trollo”. George Carlin said it was called a “der-der,” because when you were a kid, you ran around the house with one up to your mouth like a horn, and sang “der-der-der-der-der” into it. So that’s what I call them. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/65 "2005-09-22T18:02:51Z")
Another anatomical tidbit: That little piece on the inside part of your ear that sticks out toward the auditory canal (and where hair grows after you turn forty) is the _tragus_. ---
**Author:** ![JerH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@JerH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerH)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/66 "2005-09-22T18:16:33Z")
When you’re waiting in line, and there are posts holding up chain or webbing or velvet rope - those posts are called “stanchions.” If there’s a fancy top on a post, that’s a “finial.” ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/67 "2005-09-22T18:48:58Z")
The symbol ~ is called a “little squiggly thing.” ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/68 "2005-09-22T19:44:42Z")
> [@Jpeg Jones](#): > > The round decorative metal disk where plumbing comes out of the wall is called an **escutcheon**. Escutchen is not specific to the plumbing application. Doorknobs are typically surrounded by an escutchen where they come out of a door. Though not commonly heard, escutchen or excutchen plate is a correct term for the outer plate on an electrical outlet or wall switch. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/69 "2005-09-22T20:11:18Z")
> [@Kat](#): > > It’s called a ferrule. A ferrule is any kind of ring, cap or cover, usually metallic, on a handle, tool or similar object used to strengthen, prevent splitting, or attach other objects. For example, the term can also be applied to the metal part that attaches brush hairs to a brush handle. [http://www.bartleby.com/61/imagepages/A4ferrul.html](http://www.bartleby.com/61/imagepages/A4ferrul.html) Some other types of ferrule: [http://www.sge.com/htm/support/product\_selection/prod\_sel\_ferrules.asp](http://www.sge.com/htm/support/product_selection/prod_sel_ferrules.asp) [surplusrifle.com](http://www.surplusrifle.com/garand/rifledisassembly/index.asp) [see figure 11] [http://www.ohmedamedical.com/index.cfm?act=product&subact=product&product\_id=119](http://www.ohmedamedical.com/index.cfm?act=product&subact=product&product_id=119) ---
**Author:** ![ryobserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@ryobserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryobserver)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/70 "2005-09-23T00:36:14Z")
I see people have already cited my favorite “body parts you never knew had names”, the glabella and the tragus. Here’s another one: Hold out your hand, palm down, and extend your thumb fully (as though hitchhiking, but keeping your fingers straight). See a small hollow space just above your wrist, between the two tendons running down from your thumb? That’s the anatomical snuff box. (Why snuff box? Because it was used for snuff-snorting purposes back when snuff was common.) ---
**Author:** ![Inspector\_Gadget](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/6de8d8/32.png) [@Inspector\_Gadget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inspector_Gadget)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/71 "2014-10-27T08:25:31Z")
The “~” or squibble or sort-of dash to the left of the “1” key on a “QWERTY” keyboard is called a TILDAY. According to wikipedia it has so many different uses in everything from spanish language scribes using it as a notation of abbreavation, to what I know it for as MICROSOFT file format notation scheme when it extended the FAT file system standard to support long filenames for Microsoft Windows. Programs written prior to this development could only access filenames in the so-called 8.3 format—the filenames consisted of a maximum of eight characters from a restricted character set (e.g. no spaces), followed by a period, followed by three more characters. In order to permit these legacy programs to access files in the FAT file system, each file had to be given two names—one long, more descriptive one, and one that conformed to the 8.3 format. This was accomplished with a name-mangling scheme in which the first six characters of the filename are followed by a tilde and a digit. For example, “Program Files” might become “PROGRA~1” (per wikipedia) Now did you know that the collective noun for a group of Crows is called a MURDER. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/72 "2014-10-27T08:50:48Z")
> [@Inspector\_Gadget](#): > > The “~” or squibble or sort-of dash to the left of the “1” key on a “QWERTY” keyboard is called a TILDAY. It’s spelled “[tilde](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilde)”. A very old thread to which no one has posted for some time (maybe even years) and has been suddenly revived by a new post is called a “zombie”. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/73 "2014-10-27T13:33:47Z")
> [@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. It may now, but I first heard it used long before I ever heard of ethernet. In the 1980s one of the ways that software was copy protected was to provide a hardware device that plugged into a certain port on your PC and the software would not run without that dongle. One of my favorite words is finial. It can refer to the thing that you screw down to hold a lampshade in place or to the topping of the last post in a bannister. A plectrum is a guitar or banjo pick. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/74 "2014-10-27T13:44:19Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > 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 Are you sure the / is a virgule? It is the French word for a comma. & is the ampersand and @ is the apparsat although it has many names. - is a hyphen, not to be coonfused with the endash (which is longer) or the emdash, aka dash, which is much longer. The endash should be used in numerical ranges: e.g. 2–4, while the dash is grammatical. The Ç is just a C cedilla. The ¥ is just yen. The thing that looks like a beta is an es-zet, while the last one on your list is just a Sigma (or perhaps a summation sign in mathematics). ---
**Author:** ![TheSeaOtter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed655f/32.png) [@TheSeaOtter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheSeaOtter)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/75 "2014-10-27T13:52:06Z")
> [@Jpeg\_Jones](#): > > The movable piece of wood for tightening the hair of a violin bow is called the **frog**. Other things (besides animals) also called a **frog** : The [loop-and-knot fasteners](http://www.voguefabricsstore.com/images/P/Frog-00833.jpg) on some old-timey jackets and at the neck of some capes. The [leather straps](http://www.theinnerbailey.com/sword-frog-ofthe-circle-01.jpg) that hold a sword’s scabbard to a belt. The [spikey](http://apropergarden.com/i/pin_det.jpg) or [perforated](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_06F8EVIvIeU/TK97ZncjDFI/AAAAAAAADrc/no1Q-WMdmtY/s1600/flower+frogs.1.JPG) things used to keep flower arrangements in place. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/76 "2014-10-27T14:33:02Z")
The spikes on a Stegosaurus’ tail are called “thagomizers”, after the late Thag Simmons. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/77 "2014-10-27T14:34:20Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > The dot above the lowercase i and j? They’re called tittles. > . . . > The little plastic bands on the ends of shoelaces are aglets. . . . It there a name for the cross on small t’s? Also, aglets can be found at the end or other kinds of laces, too. Corset laces, for instance. Aglets may or may not have predated shoe laces. Originally, they were made out of [metal](http://www.medieval-fightclub.com/products/Aglet-(pair)-%252d-type-ii.html). ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/78 "2014-10-27T18:44:58Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > The spikes on a Stegosaurus’ tail are called “thagomizers”, after the late Thag Simmons. Apologies to OP- I asked for this to be removed as OT (stegosauruseses not being common and all). ---
**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:** [October 27, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/79 "2014-10-27T21:41:19Z")
The act of raising your shoulders in response to cold weather is called a hurple. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/80 "2014-10-28T00:08:55Z")
Kerf. The width of a saw blade cut. And yes, you do need to take it into account when you measure. And not just for fine cabinet work. [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=3) [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=5)