# What do you call that whozeewhatzit? The thingamabob. . . whatchamacallit?

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-whozeewhatzit-the-thingamabob-whatchamacallit/207465
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [October 14, 2003, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-whozeewhatzit-the-thingamabob-whatchamacallit/207465 "2003-10-14T22:51:11Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2003, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-whozeewhatzit-the-thingamabob-whatchamacallit/207465/1 "2003-10-14T22:51:11Z")

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This is a poll. I’m interested in what people call something when they can’t recall or don’t know the actual name. I wonder if there are regional differences.

The one word that I think may be regional is “thingy”. Nobody but us Bronxites say “thingy”. So, please tell me what you say and where you’re from when you mean to say, um, thingamabob.

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### Author: ![Rabid\_Squirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Rabid\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rabid_Squirrel)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2003, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-whozeewhatzit-the-thingamabob-whatchamacallit/207465/2 "2003-10-14T23:02:53Z")

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Dongle mostly. Don’t know where I got that term from.

Other terms less often used includes widget and thingie.

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### Author: ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2003, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-whozeewhatzit-the-thingamabob-whatchamacallit/207465/3 "2003-10-14T23:40:32Z")

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“Hey, hand me that thing! You know the \<adjective\> hootchie-cootchie. Yeah, that”

Or sometimes, “I’m looking for my \<brainspaz\>… metal… wrist… time-thingie. Have you seen it?”

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### Author: ![Greywolf73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d9b06d/32.png) [@Greywolf73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greywolf73)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2003, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-whozeewhatzit-the-thingamabob-whatchamacallit/207465/4 "2003-10-14T23:48:40Z")

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Thing-a-majigee works for me.

Whatchamacallit works well too.

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### Author: ![Aankh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@Aankh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aankh)
#### Post date: [October 15, 2003, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-whozeewhatzit-the-thingamabob-whatchamacallit/207465/5 "2003-10-15T00:13:47Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Rabid\_Squirrel \*  
> **Dongle mostly.**

“Hand me the dongle, willya?”

That sounds ridiculously obscene.

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### Author: ![Sonyadora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Sonyadora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sonyadora)
#### Post date: [October 15, 2003, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-whozeewhatzit-the-thingamabob-whatchamacallit/207465/6 "2003-10-15T00:23:19Z")

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I prefer “thingie” but also use “doo-dad”, “thingie-mic-bob(er)”,“thingie-mic-doodle”, “whatzit”, and “who-the-what-now?”

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### Author: ![Rabid\_Squirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Rabid\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rabid_Squirrel)
#### Post date: [October 15, 2003, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-whozeewhatzit-the-thingamabob-whatchamacallit/207465/7 "2003-10-15T00:30:44Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> That sounds ridiculously obscene.

_Exactly_. 😉

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### Author: ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)
#### Post date: [October 15, 2003, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-whozeewhatzit-the-thingamabob-whatchamacallit/207465/8 "2003-10-15T00:45:56Z")

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I say thingie. And whatsamawhoozit. And diddly-bob.

“Honey, gimme the…uh…the uh… (makes descriptive gesture with hands) the DIDDLY-BOB!”

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### Author: ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)
#### Post date: [October 15, 2003, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-whozeewhatzit-the-thingamabob-whatchamacallit/207465/9 "2003-10-15T00:49:13Z")

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Dealie-bobber. Also gizmo, if it has moving parts. Don’t ask me why.

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### Author: ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)
#### Post date: [October 15, 2003, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-whozeewhatzit-the-thingamabob-whatchamacallit/207465/10 "2003-10-15T00:51:12Z")

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There is the famous left handed catawumpus.

I’ve also heard of the not so famous humma-ding-ding.

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### Author: ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)
#### Post date: [October 15, 2003, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-whozeewhatzit-the-thingamabob-whatchamacallit/207465/11 "2003-10-15T00:53:02Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Biggirl \*  
> \*\*
> 
> Nobody but us Bronxites say “thingy”. \*\*

Um, I’m not a Bronxite, and I use “thingy” all the time. Usually along with a very vague description of what i’m trying to say… as in “pass me that channel-changing thingy”.

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### Author: ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)
#### Post date: [October 15, 2003, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-whozeewhatzit-the-thingamabob-whatchamacallit/207465/12 "2003-10-15T01:09:26Z")

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Yep, we use “thingy” here too, along with it’s more formal forms, thingie-mah-bob and \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_-thingy when being descriptive.

I kind of gave up on “Whatchamacallit” when they made a candy bar named that, felt vaguely wrong after that.

Doo-hickey is probably the one I use most often when frustrated yet trying to refrain from profaning. 🙂

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### Author: ![Nuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea666f/32.png) [@Nuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nuke)
#### Post date: [October 15, 2003, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-whozeewhatzit-the-thingamabob-whatchamacallit/207465/13 "2003-10-15T01:11:03Z")

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Hoobeedoo

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### Author: ![green\_bladder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@green\_bladder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/green_bladder)
#### Post date: [October 15, 2003, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-whozeewhatzit-the-thingamabob-whatchamacallit/207465/14 "2003-10-15T02:42:23Z")

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“…the thing/guy/person/place…”  
Or: “you know what I’m thinkin’ about, don’tcha?” To which the answer is always _no_.

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### Author: ![Walkabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walkabout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walkabout)
#### Post date: [October 15, 2003, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-whozeewhatzit-the-thingamabob-whatchamacallit/207465/15 "2003-10-15T02:47:28Z")

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whatchamacallit

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### Author: ![WhetherMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8e7dd6/32.png) [@WhetherMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhetherMan)
#### Post date: [October 15, 2003, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-whozeewhatzit-the-thingamabob-whatchamacallit/207465/16 "2003-10-15T03:07:57Z")

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A combination of Whatchamacallit and Thingamabob:

“Whatchamabob”

I too, **Queen Tonya** , don’t like using the word (or whatever these things are called) Whatchmacallit ever since that candy bar came along. It kind of killed the word for me…well, to an extent…since I still do use the first part.

Or

“That thing…whatever you call it”

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### Author: ![Miss\_Bianca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@Miss\_Bianca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Bianca)
#### Post date: [October 15, 2003, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-whozeewhatzit-the-thingamabob-whatchamacallit/207465/17 "2003-10-15T03:11:11Z")

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Hoochajiggy or hoochamajiggy. Less often whatchamacallit or thingamabob.

My husband says hoochajiggy for mechanical-type things and whatchamacallit for everything else.

We were both raised in Chicago.

We knew someone from Rhode Island who said reebadoo, but suspect that might have been hers alone…

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### Author: ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)
#### Post date: [October 15, 2003, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-whozeewhatzit-the-thingamabob-whatchamacallit/207465/18 "2003-10-15T03:18:16Z")

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My mother-in-law frequently refers to things she can’t remember the names of as “hoo-hoos” - as in “I made a batch of those chocolate raspberry…um… hoo-hoos.”

Furniture used to be referred to by her as “the thing in the room…with the thing… in the corner… you know, where I always put those hoo-hoos at Christmas?” Now she thinks it’s entertaining to call furniture the “henway” – which of course prompts her son, my dear dim WryGuy, to inquire, “What’s a henway?”

Mom says, “About three pounds, give or take.”

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### Author: ![WhetherMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8e7dd6/32.png) [@WhetherMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhetherMan)
#### Post date: [October 15, 2003, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-whozeewhatzit-the-thingamabob-whatchamacallit/207465/19 "2003-10-15T03:24:34Z")

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Anyone else got that song _Part of Your World_ from The Little Mermaid now running through your head? You know…the one that goes like this:

I’ve got gadgets and gizmos aplenty  
I’ve got whozits and whatzits galore  
(You want thingamabobs? I got twenty)  
But who cares?  
No big deal  
I want more…

Thanks, **Biggirl** , now I’ll be singing that all night.

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### Author: ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)
#### Post date: [October 15, 2003, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-whozeewhatzit-the-thingamabob-whatchamacallit/207465/20 "2003-10-15T04:00:53Z")

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I came across one or the other of these two words in the dictionary. (American Heritage I think)

Doo-dad

Thingamabob

Anyhow, the words definiton was the other word.  
I didnt look up the other word. (I wasnt looking up the first word either, just saw it on the page)

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