whatchamacallit

[Abo 7alap]

Has anybody heard " whatchamacallit " ?


It uses when you can't remember the name of something ...

I've never heard it but I saw it by coincidence at Longman Dictionary ...


Thanks ....

[BobK]

Originally Posted by Abo 7alap

Has anybody heard " whatchamacallit " ?


It uses when you can't remember the name of something ...

I've never heard it but I saw it by coincidence at Longman Dictionary ...


Thanks ....

It's current, though a bit dated. More common, in my experience, are the shorter variants 'whatsit' or 'doofer'.



b

PS There's also the slightly journalistic and jocular 'wossname' - though that's usually a person rather than a thing.

[Clare James]

Isn't it only American teens who say 'doofer'?

[Abo 7alap]

Originally Posted by BobK

'whatsit' or 'doofer' 'wossname'

well I think that first one uses only when you can't think of the word that you want .... not when you want to remember something's name ...

Anyway you have more experience than me ...

the second and the third one I've never heard about them at all ...

[BobK]

Originally Posted by Clare James

Isn't it only American teens who say 'doofer'?

Well my wife - who doesn't fit either of those criteria - uses it to refer, for example, to the TV remote: "I think the doofer needs new batteries."

b

[Lynxear]

Originally Posted by Abo 7alap

Has anybody heard " whatchamacallit " ?


It uses when you can't remember the name of something ...

I've never heard it but I saw it by coincidence at Longman Dictionary ...


Thanks ....

whatchamacallit is actually "what-you-might-call-it" said really fast!!!

[fungicord]

I'm in the USA and in regular contact with younger people, I can confidently say that "doofer" isn't common slang. I'm guessing it's BrE only.

As for whatchamacallit, it's also the name of a US-made candy bar from the Hershey company.

Some other long words with the same meaning include thingamajig, thingamabob, and doohickey. They're all used when you can't think of the real name for an item.