# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![bizzwire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/958977/32.png) [@bizzwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizzwire)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/81 "2014-10-28T00:22:56Z")
The ridge that runs along the bottom of your scrotum (well, mine, anyway) is called a “raphe.” ---
**Author:** ![bizzwire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/958977/32.png) [@bizzwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizzwire)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/82 "2014-10-28T00:25:30Z")
Also, that adorable pursed-lip pouty thing that French gamines do is called a “moue.” ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/83 "2014-10-28T00:38:39Z")
> [@bizzwire](#): > > The ridge that runs along the bottom of your scrotum (well, mine, anyway) is called a “raphe.” You _named_ yours!?! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/84 "2014-10-28T08:49:41Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > 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. Also called a number sign. > [@WotNot](#): > > 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.] There are also fraction and division slashes, which may or may not be different, depending on the font. > [@FlyingRamenMonster](#): > > Hyphen > Endash (width of a capital N) > Emdash (width of a capital M) There are also comparable widths of spaces: Thin space En space Em space ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/85 "2014-10-28T12:56:06Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > It there a name for the cross on small t’s? If there isn’t, how about [patibulum](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/patibulum)? The squiggly lines in Microsoft Word that indicate you might have misspelled a word are called ‘wavy underlines.’ ---
**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 28, 2014, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/86 "2014-10-28T12:59:06Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > If there isn’t, how about [patibulum](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/patibulum)? > . . . How very goulish. It would certainly work and it’s seasonally appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/87 "2014-10-28T18:35:54Z")
A hole bored into the side of a barrel containing liquid in order to remove its contents is called a bunghole. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/88 "2014-10-28T19:47:41Z")
A group of cats is a clowder. A group of ravens is an unkindness. A group of lemurs is a conspiracy. The strip of metal found on at the base of doors is called a kickplate. When you play a piano, the string is hit by a hammer, technically making it a percussion instrument. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/89 "2014-10-28T20:25:40Z")
A group of rhinos is a crash. A tool to route new wiring thru walls is a fish tape. A tool to punch out holes is a knockout punch. And I am printing this all out for my next scrabble game. ---
**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 28, 2014, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/90 "2014-10-28T20:27:54Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > A hole bored into the side of a barrel containing liquid in order to remove its contents is called a bunghole. The tool for opening the bungs on a 55 gallon drum is called a [bung tool](http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200408812_200408812)or bung wrench. In the old days they were made out of brass or bronze, to prevent sparks and the explosions that could follow if the bung of something flammable wasn’t cooperating. Now they can be made out of aluminum or plastic, and bungs are a little more standardized; so you don’t usually need one of the big old monstrosities with multiple protuberances to fit different kinds of bungs. Which is a pity. The first bung tool I ever used was one that I couldn’t pick up without thinking “blunt instrument.” I knew that the healing had started when I could use it without thinking of my ex-husband. You know, just in passing. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/91 "2014-10-28T21:04:17Z")
> [@swampspruce](#): > > A group of cats is a clowder. > A group of ravens is an unkindness. Actually, that was a joke. A woman in the 15th century, Juliana Berners, Prioress of Sopewell, wrote a book on hunting, and it was basically serious, but she slipped in some jokes. There was a chapter of collective nouns for animals that were hunted, like a herd of deer, which were things hunters might want to know, but after the serious animals on the list, she included a clowder (clutter) of cats, a shrewdness of apes, a baren [sic] of mules, a murder of crows, and then she went on to groups of people: a superfluity of nuns, a fighting of beggars, a lying of pardoners, an incredibility of cuckolds, among many others. It’s very funny. A lot of people didn’t get that it was a joke, though, and some of the terms actually entered the language. Here’s mine: what people call “camouflage,” clothing, the Army calls BDUs, or "Battle Dress Uniform. It’s not the standard anymore, though, and now the Army uses ACUs (the minecraft-looking stuff); ACU stands for “Army Combat Uniform.” The uniform that soldiers in Iraq wore was called DCUs, or “Desert Camouflage Uniform”; it had a pattern print like regular camouflage, but it sandy colors. There was also briefly a DBDU “Desert Battle Dress Uniform,” (the one with the sand and rocks) that was used in the Persian Gulf war, but the DCU was found to be more effective. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/92 "2014-10-29T01:00:17Z")
> [@Jpeg\_Jones](#): > > The movable piece of wood for tightening the hair of a violin bow is called the **frog**. > [@TheSeaOtter](#): > > 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. zombie or no a nonanimal frog is part of a railroad track crossover to keep the wheels on the track which is named after an animal frog which is part of a horse’s hoof. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/93 "2014-10-29T01:11:57Z")
Those grooves on the side of the highway are called Rumble Strips. (or sleeper lines) ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/94 "2014-10-29T03:53:37Z")
The empty space between the top of a container and the level of liquid contained in it is called the **ullage**. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/95 "2014-10-29T04:08:59Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > dragees come in all kinds of shapes and colours, including what I’d normally call sugared almonds. Argentees may be a word used (by somebody somewhere) to specify particularly the little siver ones. Another one is [cachous](http://www.queen.com.au/pantry-item/cachous-multipack/) (since we’re doing this again…) ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/96 "2014-10-29T04:34:20Z")
The tiny piece of paper punches out by a hole puncher is called a chad. Chad became infamous during the 2000 presidential election in the US. Any large, immobile, usually concrete item used to prevent cars from entering a pedestrian area is called a bollard. Actors in a play with non-speaking, decorative roles, especially spear carriers, are supernumeraries. Your big toe’s proper name is the hallux. ---
**Author:** ![MrsTime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@MrsTime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrsTime)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/97 "2014-10-29T04:59:17Z")
> [@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… I thought they were dragees as well. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/98 "2014-10-29T06:55:05Z")
A Torah is a handwritten scroll of the first five books of the Hebrew bible. A printed version, which may be in any language, and is often in the language of the land where its printed, and Hebrew side by side, is called a “chumash.” The “ch” is like the ch in “Chanukah.” It’s unusual to hear the word “yarmulke” anymore. Almost everyone calls the little head caps “kippah” pl-“kippot,” which is the Hebrew word. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/99 "2014-10-29T08:51:14Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > 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). I’m not aware that anyone has been using “apparsat” for @, though “appersat” has been proposed a few times by a few people in a few different places, including [this board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=320243&p=6240618). ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-common-things-we-see-every-day-that-people-may-not-know-the-name-to/322648/100 "2014-10-29T09:07:15Z")
The dust or shavings (often mental shavings) removed from an object by a cutting or grinding tool is called **swarf** (also used for space junk, apparently), unless it made of diamond, in which case it is **bort** (I guess bort isn’t that common, though). [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=4) [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=6)