# why is there no pop-culture wordlet for "www."? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 25, 2002, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-no-pop-culture-wordlet-for-www/105661 "2002-04-25T23:35:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![haardvark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@haardvark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/haardvark)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-no-pop-culture-wordlet-for-www/105661/21 "2002-04-26T02:02:22Z")
As soon as I wrote the OP I realized that folks would jump on and say “yeah, you can omit the www from any browsers these daze…” I _know_ you _can_. And in my own usage, I generally do omit it (and folks will still say back to me sometimes, “what? no double-you-double-you-double-you at the front end?”). However, despite the breezy way the notion of cropping the tri-dub is thrown around here, it is still encountered in common usage a lot. To wit, **radio and TV commercials**. This is what actually got me thinking about it, having to sit through another home grown TV ad for \*\*www.bufords\_house\_of\_liver.com \*\* where they painfully spell out the double-you-double-you-double-you about 5 times in a 30 second spot, and I thought DAMN, this would perhaps be slightly less annoying if they could just shorten… etc. etc. Anyway I just felt like pointing out that I’m not so much of a :wally that I didn’t know the browser omission trick. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-no-pop-culture-wordlet-for-www/105661/22 "2002-04-26T02:08:08Z")
Personally, I like it. “Double-you, double-you, double-you.” It rolls trippingly off the tongue. Hell I think we should a few more "double-you"s just to make it really fun. * * * “Please check out my web-site at [wwwwww.doubleyoudoubleyoudotcom.com](http://wwwwww.doubleyoudoubleyoudotcom.com).” ---
**Author:** ![haardvark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@haardvark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/haardvark)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-no-pop-culture-wordlet-for-www/105661/23 "2002-04-26T02:09:46Z")
I just realized another place I encounter this a lot which was nagging at me. I work for Big Chemical, and we have a burgeoning corporate intranet. Site addresses on this intraweb tend to use www or www_x_ (where x is an integer) quite frequently, if not exclusively, and sometimes ya gotta say the www just so you can say the _x_ as well. And **Ringo** , the intent of the OP was to discuss those sites that still do tri-dub, as opposed to the many that don’t (and sensibly so)…I remember when the web was young I used to ponder the value of a prefix that appeared on EVERYTHING (i.e. if it’s everyplace, isn’t that semantically equivalent to not using it at all?) I’m sure there is a good historical NCSA cyber-geekoid reason why it was originally like that, but I don’t know what it is. ---
**Author:** ![HelloKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecccb3/32.png) [@HelloKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelloKitty)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-no-pop-culture-wordlet-for-www/105661/24 "2002-04-26T03:47:04Z")
Hey, I like **web dot** , that sounds pretty catchy. One I thought of was **tripdub dot** , but it’s still a little cumbersome. ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-no-pop-culture-wordlet-for-www/105661/25 "2002-04-26T03:56:48Z")
I tried to get _Edward Woodward_ to catch on a few years ago, but it didn’t take. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-no-pop-culture-wordlet-for-www/105661/26 "2002-04-26T04:25:22Z")
_This little piggy went to market This little piggy stayed home This little piggy had roast beef This little piggy had none And this little piggy cried **www.allthewayhome!** _ My friends and I really wanted “Wee wee wee!” (only said in a high squeaky voice) to catch on. We were, alas, and obviously, disappointed. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Soup\_du\_jour](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Soup\_du\_jour](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soup_du_jour)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-no-pop-culture-wordlet-for-www/105661/27 "2002-04-26T04:59:48Z")
Dubba-dubba-dubba dot is what I use. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-no-pop-culture-wordlet-for-www/105661/28 "2002-04-26T05:18:57Z")
Once when my ex-wife and I were visiting her folks in Wales, we were on a bus that had the same advertisement in Welsh and English. The advert concerned a meter reader and a friendly old lady who plied him with cups of tea (not sure what the symbolism was there). Anyway, the meter reader eventually had had enough tea and asked (English text) “Ooooh, where’s the loo Mrs. Jones?” But in the Welsh text ( **now** I’m getting to the point) “Ooooh” was translated as “www”. It’s the same sound in Welsh, you see. So I’ve always thought of “www.” as “Ooooh dot.” ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-no-pop-culture-wordlet-for-www/105661/29 "2002-04-26T06:23:31Z")
MrWhatsit always says “world wide web”, and I’ve fallen into the habit myself. As in, “world wide web dot google dot com” or whatever. I like it. Short (three syllables) and snappy. ---
**Author:** ![Dragonblink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dragonblink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragonblink)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-no-pop-culture-wordlet-for-www/105661/30 "2002-04-26T07:30:26Z")
Sometimes I’ll say “wuh wuh wuh dot …” but that’s mainly because I’m lazy. What I’ve always wondered is why people always pronounce com, net, and gov, but spell out edu (and sometimes org). Of course, I also pronounce .co.uk like “dot coh dot uck.” ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-no-pop-culture-wordlet-for-www/105661/31 "2002-04-26T07:36:48Z")
> [@](#): > > **cheese is to cheez as meat is to ?** Spam. ---
**Author:** ![kuroashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9a140/32.png) [@kuroashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kuroashi)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-no-pop-culture-wordlet-for-www/105661/32 "2002-04-26T07:45:59Z")
I remember David Letterman making jokes about the sudden gush of webpages way back in '93. He would say, “You can find them on the Internet…at Dubbya Dubbya Dubbya…Dubbya Dubbya…Dubbya Dubbya Ladies and Gentlemen Bruce WIllis will be joining us tonight…” I’ve been using Dubbya Dubbya Dubbya ever since. It’s not a sleek word, but it beats “double-u double-u double-u” and is kinda funny. It reminds me of buck teeth and presidents. Dubbya-Dubbya-Dubbya ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-no-pop-culture-wordlet-for-www/105661/33 "2002-04-26T10:12:53Z")
Often people just say “double-you double-you something dot com” - most people know that there’s 3 w’s plus a dot, and if they don’t they’re so stupid they shouldn’t be allowed online frankly. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-no-pop-culture-wordlet-for-www/105661/34 "2002-04-26T10:27:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jmpride62 \* > \*\*I think that the reason nothing has caught on is because it’s easier to just omit the www part and refer to the web site as [Business.com](http://Business.com) or School.edu, or [Nonprofit.org](http://Nonprofit.org), etc. I think most people just assume the www part at this point. \*\* Yeah, remember a few years ago when the web was a new thing and companies first started advertising their sites at the ends of commercials? They would read out the entire site! All [http://www.whatever.com](http://www.whatever.com) ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-no-pop-culture-wordlet-for-www/105661/35 "2002-04-26T12:41:39Z")
I knew someone who said “wibble”. First time she said it, it was, “Okay, got to wibble-dot-…” “What? Wibble?” “Yeah. You know, WWW…” “Wibble?” “Yeah, it’s short for WWW.” “Wibble.” “JUST GO THERE.” It drove me nuts. ---
**Author:** ![kuroashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9a140/32.png) [@kuroashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kuroashi)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-no-pop-culture-wordlet-for-www/105661/36 "2002-04-26T13:08:42Z")
nice link, Lego. I actually tried to connect… doi ---
**Author:** ![Tansu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@Tansu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tansu)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-no-pop-culture-wordlet-for-www/105661/37 "2002-04-26T13:12:39Z")
Years ago (well, 1995), I had a friend who used ‘wibble’. ---
**Author:** ![brachyrhynchos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brachyrhynchos/32/376_2.png) [@brachyrhynchos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brachyrhynchos)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-no-pop-culture-wordlet-for-www/105661/38 "2002-04-26T13:21:36Z")
I say dub dub dub. _stares defiantly_ I’m going to apply for an alias because I dread whenever anyone asks for our web site. "Dub dub dub…um, dubya dubya…H T T P colon the slash-with-the-top-pointing-to-the-right, another one, double u double u double u dash…yes, dash, r c i dot rutgers dot edu…edu…for education…slash tilde…that symbol next to the 1 that looks like a wiggle…yes, that’s the one…yes it’s used in Spanish…okay tilde insects…insects, with an s… i n s e c t s. Thank God I don’t have to give the actual path name where the files reside. "The slash pointing to the right pandemonium…p a n d e m o n i u m… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Mesopotamis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/41988e/32.png) [@Mesopotamis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mesopotamis)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-no-pop-culture-wordlet-for-www/105661/39 "2002-04-26T13:58:28Z")
Rush Limbaugh has allways said “triple dub” when pointing people to his website. I once heard him say how he got emails from people say his website wasn’t working. They were typing in “triple dub” not “www”. :rolleyes: Also, I’m a newbie. But I would guess most people on this forum dont listen to Rush much. lol ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-no-pop-culture-wordlet-for-www/105661/40 "2002-04-26T15:02:49Z")
“dubdubdub” hasn’t caught on? Well, wipe me with a geek rag, but I and everyone I know uses dubdubdub. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-no-pop-culture-wordlet-for-www/105661.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-no-pop-culture-wordlet-for-www/105661.md?page=3)