# When did "binky" start meaning "pacifier"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 4, 2006, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-binky-start-meaning-pacifier/338446 "2006-01-04T19:43:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-binky-start-meaning-pacifier/338446/21 "2006-01-05T13:14:17Z")
I first heard the term ‘binky’ on some horrible sit-com that my wife watched two years ago. In Montreal, the object is usually called a ‘suss’ (short for sucon… another example of cross-language dialect). ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-binky-start-meaning-pacifier/338446/22 "2006-01-05T15:38:21Z")
No idea where I picked up “binky”, but the nurses in the NICU when my daughter was born used it. My own mother and grandmothers always said “nuk” or “nuk-nuk” - anyone else encountered that one? ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-binky-start-meaning-pacifier/338446/23 "2006-01-05T16:03:55Z")
It’s either a Binky (or Bink-a-link) or a “plug” at our house… depending on who we’ve spent time with recently. Either way, we were originally convinced that we’d be “plug free” at our house… that lasted 3 days after the Butlerette came home from the hospital. ---
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-binky-start-meaning-pacifier/338446/24 "2006-01-05T16:12:33Z")
When my nephew was born in California, in 1966, he came home from the hospital supplied with a “Binky” brand pacifier. We called it a binky, because it said “Binky” right on the thing. When my daughters were born, in California, in 1973 and 1981, another popular brand was “Nuk”. However, due to habit, it was always called binky. YMMV. FWIW, a disclaimer for my doper daughter. **The Sausage Creature** never liked her binky. She would always spit it out. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-binky-start-meaning-pacifier/338446/25 "2006-01-05T16:17:18Z")
> [@Cheez\_Whia](#): > > When my nephew was born in California, in 1966, he came home from the hospital supplied with a “Binky” brand pacifier. We called it a binky, because it said “Binky” right on the thing. > > When my daughters were born, in California, in 1973 and 1981, another popular brand was “Nuk”. However, due to habit, it was always called binky. YMMV. > FWIW, a disclaimer for my doper daughter. The Sausage Creature never liked her binky. She would always spit it out. Aah, but which came first? The brand name or the slang? (babyx also has use for the binker anymore, but it was helpful early on. The damn things get everywhere. They’re like little filth magnets. Pacis, not babies, though…). ---
**Author:** ![MentalGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/439d5e/32.png) [@MentalGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MentalGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-binky-start-meaning-pacifier/338446/26 "2006-01-05T16:18:39Z")
I first recall hearing them referred to as binkies in the **The Rugrats Movie**. My father (who died this past spring at the age of 92) always called them “foolers.” ---
**Author:** ![Interrobang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/interrobang/32/17463_2.png) [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-binky-start-meaning-pacifier/338446/27 "2006-01-05T17:22:33Z")
> [@cthiax](#): > > My own mother and grandmothers always said “nuk” or “nuk-nuk” - anyone else encountered that one? That’s another brand name, though I don’t know if the brand predates the word or vice versa. **Samclem’s** post at least confirms that I’m not crazy – “binky” does seem to be a recently widespread generic word for pacifier. I’m sure that thrills Playtex to no end. Perhaps they can celebrate with the folks from Coke and Xerox. ---
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-binky-start-meaning-pacifier/338446/28 "2006-01-05T17:38:44Z")
> [@cthiax](#): > > Aah, but which came first? The brand name or the slang? Alas, the Binky Apocrypha can tell us no more! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-binky-start-meaning-pacifier/338446/29 "2006-01-05T17:49:50Z")
When I was a child (in the 70’s midwest) my parents referred to my pacifier as a “pippy.” I have no idea where this came from. Perhaps their own parents. I referred to (ok and still do :o ) security items like a favorite blanket, my partner, my pets as “woobies” and “binkies” Come to think of it, I think my grandparents (from Northcentral Kentucky) started the “pippy” thing. I think “binky” is just babytalk for “blanket.” ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-binky-start-meaning-pacifier/338446/30 "2006-01-05T22:03:25Z")
I tried to post this yesterday, but the brower crashed, or the dope itself did. The first time I heard this term was when my best friends as a little kid had a baby brother, and their mom called his pacifier a “binky.” That was in 1982. As far as I know their parents grew up in MA like mine did. I don’t think I recall anyone else calling it that, though, until the 90s. ---
**Author:** ![Amaranta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Amaranta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amaranta)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-binky-start-meaning-pacifier/338446/31 "2006-01-05T22:58:20Z")
West Coast Canada here. They were always “soothers” in my house, and “soo-soo” for my littlest sister (as a side note, littlest sister was very, very attached to her soo-soos, and our dentist told my mum about the whole messed-up teeth from using soothers for a long time, so my mum created the “soother fairy” who would leave you toys in exchange for soothers left under your pillow, so middle sister and I thought ourselves very naughty children for never meeting the “soother fairy”, thus confirming my mother’s belief that anything can be turned in a sibling rivalry/“mommy doesn’t love me!” issue). I’ve never heard of a soother being called “binky” until this thread. We called blankets blankie, and woof-woof was dog, and my middle sister (for reasons forever unknown) called lip balm “bo-bo lips”, which still slips out sometimes. Me: “Does anyone have any bo-bo lips?” Friends: “WHAAAAT?” Me: “Um, lip balm. Lip chap. You know, lip balm.” Friends: “No, what did you say the first time?” Me: “Nothing…” ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-binky-start-meaning-pacifier/338446/32 "2006-01-06T00:59:52Z")
When I was raising infants 20-odd years ago, the word “binky” was unknown. We just called them “plugs”, but I think that was a bit odd – I know there was a more common word, but it escapes me now. Nuk was the upscale brand for yuppie babies then. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-binky-start-meaning-pacifier/338446/33 "2006-01-06T01:43:31Z")
> [@cthiax](#): > > Aah, but which came first? The brand name or the slang? The slang word probably wasn’t used by the general population before the 1980’s. Individuals, as attested to in this thread, probably bought a “Binky” brand pacifier, which dates from the 1930’s, and called it a “binky.” But those were isolated incidents. So, the brand predated the slang word. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-binky-start-meaning-pacifier/338446/34 "2006-01-06T02:48:45Z")
Now that the brand name, Nuk, has been mentioned, I do seem to recall hearing the term “nuk-nuk”. When you think about it, that’s kind of the sound made when sucking on a pacifier. Think of Maggie Simpson. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-binky-start-meaning-pacifier/338446/35 "2006-01-06T03:04:24Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Until I heard the word used on “Nanny 911” this year, I had never in my life heard the word “binky” applied to a pacifier. On Supernanny, one family called them “dodies.” On **Malcolm in the Middle** , Reese referred to baby Jamie’s “nu-nu.” (Where the heck did that come from?) ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-binky-start-meaning-pacifier/338446/36 "2006-01-06T04:53:55Z")
We called them “bobbies” when I was growing up in the 1970s (grew up in PA, parents spent many years in San Diego/Washington State). Origin? Beats me. But I did recently saw a very retro-looking pacifier for sale in a bodega in NYC that, I believe, was brand-named “Babi”. Was it meant to be pronounced “bay-bee” or “bah-bee”? Who knows. Even related? Who knows. My sister and brother just had their own respective kids, and both my niece and nephew have “binkies.” ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-binky-start-meaning-pacifier/338446/37 "2006-01-06T05:42:33Z")
> [@Phase42](#): > > Now that the brand name, Nuk, has been mentioned, I do seem to recall hearing the term “nuk-nuk”. When you think about it, that’s kind of the sound made when sucking on a pacifier. Think of Maggie Simpson. Or the Three Stooges. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![SABEI\_KING](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SABEI\_KING](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SABEI_KING)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2006, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-binky-start-meaning-pacifier/338446/38 "2006-01-07T08:58:07Z")
Whats the big flipin’ (prase stolin’ by the movie Nypoline Dynomite\*\*\*)deal differnt country cities and langues have other terms. My baby neice stuters pacifire when she wants her “sother binkey or pacii” But I’ve never heard a blakey was called a binkey but mabye a “bankey” (baby talk). ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2006, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-binky-start-meaning-pacifier/338446/39 "2006-01-07T22:16:46Z")
> [@amaranta](#): > > West Coast Canada here. They were always “soothers” in my house, and “soo-soo” for my littlest sister (as a side note, littlest sister was very, very attached to her soo-soos, and our dentist told my mum about the whole messed-up teeth from using soothers for a long time, so my mum created the “soother fairy” who would leave you toys in exchange for soothers left under your pillow, so middle sister and I thought ourselves very naughty children for never meeting the “soother fairy”, thus confirming my mother’s belief that anything can be turned in a sibling rivalry/“mommy doesn’t love me!” issue). I’ve never heard of a soother being called “binky” until this thread. > > We called blankets blankie, and woof-woof was dog, and my middle sister (for reasons forever unknown) called lip balm “bo-bo lips”, which still slips out sometimes. > > Me: “Does anyone have any bo-bo lips?” > Friends: “WHAAAAT?” > Me: “Um, lip balm. Lip chap. You know, lip balm.” > Friends: “No, what did you say the first time?” > Me: “Nothing…” Another Western Canadian here. Always soothers and pacifiers and blankie too. ---
**Author:** ![Hedda\_Rosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hedda_rosa/32/1204_2.png) [@Hedda\_Rosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hedda_Rosa)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2006, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-binky-start-meaning-pacifier/338446/40 "2006-01-08T06:48:54Z")
I hear binky around here in No Cal, but in my family we call 'em a “fi” as in paci **fi** er. I’ve also heard paci. Too cutsie-poo for my taste. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-binky-start-meaning-pacifier/338446.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-binky-start-meaning-pacifier/338446.md?page=3)