# When/how "Timbuctoo"~="Podunk"~="Nowheresville"~="Buttfuck, Idaho"; Other languages have sim. names? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 2, 2013, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-timbuctoo-podunk-nowheresville-buttfuck-idaho-other-languages-have-sim-names/649101 "2013-02-02T04:21:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-timbuctoo-podunk-nowheresville-buttfuck-idaho-other-languages-have-sim-names/649101/21 "2013-02-02T16:41:25Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > No idea, but I’ve always heard it as “Buttfuck, Egypt,” “BF Egypt,” or “Boofoo, Egypt.” (ETA, or, simply, “BFE.”) Never heard the Idaho variant. I’m from Maine and most people here say “East Bumfuck” ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-timbuctoo-podunk-nowheresville-buttfuck-idaho-other-languages-have-sim-names/649101/22 "2013-02-02T16:47:37Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > (In fact, I got the vague impression that one of the Arabian Nights stories, “The City of Brass”, might actually be set in Timbuktu, although I don’t think it actually says that in the story. Just some place far to the west (west of Arabia, that is).) You have to be careful with the Thousand Nights and a Night. For one thing, Aladdin is Chinese. (That’s basically what his name means, and the story has him coming from the far east.) There is an English equivalent of “Podunk” that Arthur C. Clarke mentions in a short story (the one about the future Prince of Wales stowing away on a spaceship), but I can’t bring it to mind. Woking? Wapford? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-timbuctoo-podunk-nowheresville-buttfuck-idaho-other-languages-have-sim-names/649101/23 "2013-02-02T16:48:43Z")
> [@j\_sum1](#): > > NZ has a real town named Erewhon. > (Just try spelling it backwards.) Isn’t that right next to Nilbog? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-timbuctoo-podunk-nowheresville-buttfuck-idaho-other-languages-have-sim-names/649101/24 "2013-02-02T16:53:10Z")
Around here I’ve heard in the bog, the boglands, the sticks, Ballygobackwards and Ballygonowhere. A more universal term for a rural dweller is a culchie. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-timbuctoo-podunk-nowheresville-buttfuck-idaho-other-languages-have-sim-names/649101/25 "2013-02-02T16:58:43Z")
Here being? ---
**Author:** ![Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunshine_and_Smiles)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-timbuctoo-podunk-nowheresville-buttfuck-idaho-other-languages-have-sim-names/649101/26 "2013-02-02T16:59:08Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > I’m from Maine and most people here say “East Bumfuck” Weird - Marylander here and I have it in my head as _West_ Bumfuck. Wonder which is really worse? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-timbuctoo-podunk-nowheresville-buttfuck-idaho-other-languages-have-sim-names/649101/27 "2013-02-02T17:16:19Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Here being? The Auld Sod. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-timbuctoo-podunk-nowheresville-buttfuck-idaho-other-languages-have-sim-names/649101/28 "2013-02-02T17:19:02Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > I’ve always heard it as “Bumfuck, Egypt.” > > And don’t forget East Jesus… There’s always Tit, Algeria, which is quite literally in the middle of nowhere, whose claim to “fame” is the [Battle of Tit](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tit,_Tamanrasset) in 1902. Making a reference to being stuck in Tit will garner you startled glances, however. Also, I don’t recommend Googling “Tit” in conjunction with anything other than Algeria if you’re at work. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-timbuctoo-podunk-nowheresville-buttfuck-idaho-other-languages-have-sim-names/649101/29 "2013-02-02T17:57:26Z")
> [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](#): > > Weird - Marylander here and I have it in my head as _West_ Bumfuck. Wonder which is really worse? That’s because there’s nothing east of you, which isn’t true for 95% of the rest of the country. It does seem like “nowhere” would be out in Utah or Montana rather than in Kaintuck, though. And I have it down as East Jesus, KY. I do drive through Podunk regularly, though. Really. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-timbuctoo-podunk-nowheresville-buttfuck-idaho-other-languages-have-sim-names/649101/30 "2013-02-02T17:58:51Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > There’s always Tit, Algeria, which is quite literally in the middle of nowhere… Isn’t there a Fuck (allowing for transliteration) somewhere in Southeastern Asia? ---
**Author:** ![Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunshine_and_Smiles)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-timbuctoo-podunk-nowheresville-buttfuck-idaho-other-languages-have-sim-names/649101/31 "2013-02-02T18:05:06Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > That’s because there’s nothing east of you, which isn’t true for 95% of the rest of the country. > > It does seem like “nowhere” would be out in Utah or Montana rather than in Kaintuck, though. And I have it down as East Jesus, KY. I hear you there, but seems that Maine would be in a similar position. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-timbuctoo-podunk-nowheresville-buttfuck-idaho-other-languages-have-sim-names/649101/32 "2013-02-02T18:11:30Z")
> [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](#): > > I hear you there, but seems that Maine would be in a similar position. Maine IS East Jesus, USA. 😃 (Wife’s family is Mainers and still live in UnpronounceableByOutsiders,\* NW of Portland. Where they moved a few decades ago from what UBO dwellers regard as the boonies.) - Pronounceable only by locals, all 900 of them. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-timbuctoo-podunk-nowheresville-buttfuck-idaho-other-languages-have-sim-names/649101/33 "2013-02-02T18:30:23Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > I’m from Maine and most people here say “East Bumfuck” We also have “East Bumblefuck.” I’ve always liked that one. ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-timbuctoo-podunk-nowheresville-buttfuck-idaho-other-languages-have-sim-names/649101/34 "2013-02-02T18:31:02Z")
Growing up in Quebec, it was the Mook-Mook Islands. I have been told that for French people, it is Troufillon-les-Oies. ETA : In Quebec it can also be St-Profond-des-Creux. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-timbuctoo-podunk-nowheresville-buttfuck-idaho-other-languages-have-sim-names/649101/35 "2013-02-02T18:37:56Z")
> [@detop](#): > > In Quebec it can also be St-Profond-des-Creux. I thought that in Quebec it was _Les Etats-Unis_? ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-timbuctoo-podunk-nowheresville-buttfuck-idaho-other-languages-have-sim-names/649101/36 "2013-02-02T19:24:59Z")
> [@detop](#): > > Growing up in Quebec, it was the Mook-Mook Islands. I have been told that for French people, it is Troufillon-les-Oies. Close ! It’s Trifouillis-les-Oies (sometime spelled Trifouilly). Another popular one is Pétaouchnok, as well as the more generic Trou-en-Cambrousse (sometimes Trou-sur-Cambrousse). A literary inspired one is Clochemerle, but you don’t hear that one much these days. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-timbuctoo-podunk-nowheresville-buttfuck-idaho-other-languages-have-sim-names/649101/37 "2013-02-02T19:30:50Z")
In Cameroon, any building set apart from the others is referred to as “Madagascar.” Always made me laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-timbuctoo-podunk-nowheresville-buttfuck-idaho-other-languages-have-sim-names/649101/38 "2013-02-02T19:49:13Z")
My African-born French teacher used to refer to places like Angola as _la fin du monde_. ---
**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:** [February 2, 2013, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-timbuctoo-podunk-nowheresville-buttfuck-idaho-other-languages-have-sim-names/649101/39 "2013-02-02T20:11:33Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > Isn’t there a Fuck (allowing for transliteration) somewhere in Southeastern Asia? You may be thinking of [Fucking, Austria](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fucking,_Austria). ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-timbuctoo-podunk-nowheresville-buttfuck-idaho-other-languages-have-sim-names/649101/40 "2013-02-02T20:25:19Z")
Wikipedia calls them “[placeholder names](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placeholder_name#Places).” In law school hypos the one is “Blackacre” and the second is “Whiteacre.” If a third is needed, it’s “Greenacre,” which is, of course, the place for me. My girlfriend is from Atlantic City and says “Japip.” I suspect it’s cognate with the Yiddish “איאהופיץ”, which is the term I picked up from my mother. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-timbuctoo-podunk-nowheresville-buttfuck-idaho-other-languages-have-sim-names/649101.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-timbuctoo-podunk-nowheresville-buttfuck-idaho-other-languages-have-sim-names/649101.md?page=3)