Ten Whatchamacallits And Their Real Names
Published on October 8, 2007 - 75 Comments
You see these things around you all the time. Some of them, you even use. The least you could do is know their names!
1. Aglet
The piece of plastic covering the ends of your shoelace, so you don’t have to moisten them with spit to thread them through your shoelace holes.
2. Bollard
The posts in the parking lot let that lets wheelchairs and shopping carts go through, but not your car.
3. Dingbat
Non-alphanumeric, non-punctuation characters, usually used when you want to write something that you don’t want your children to read.
4. Ferrule
The metal band that connects the pencil eraser to the end of the pencil.
5. Keeper
The leather loop in your belt or watch strap that keeps the end in place after it has been fastened through the buckle.
6. Kerf
The groove made by a sawblade, ie, the width of a cut. In the image above we see a 2.5 micron kerf.
7. Punt, or Kick
The small indentation at the bottom or a wine bottle, designed to give the bottle extra strength, and also, to make it look like it has more wine than it really does
8. Philtrum
The vertical groove between your lip and nose that separates your left and right mustache, unless you’re Hitler, then it’s the part that your mustache covers.
9. Phosphenes
The points of light that you see behind your eyelids when you shut your eyes really hard.
10. Tragus
The little piece of cartilage that sticks out at the front side of your ear
Contributor: Beatrice Adams
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1. Joe Skepsis - October 8th, 2007 at 9:38 am
I finally know what those damn little lights are called!
Celebration is in order.
2. Cyn - October 8th, 2007 at 9:46 am
cool list!
3. JT - October 8th, 2007 at 9:47 am
I suddenly feel so enlightened.
4. Matt - October 8th, 2007 at 9:52 am
I feel enlightened too. But, my Tragus hurts.
5. jfrater - October 8th, 2007 at 9:59 am
And I am seeing phosphenes trying to remember the names
6. wowzer - October 8th, 2007 at 10:19 am
I heard a bunch of these on NPR the other day, but they called the kick of a wine bottle the “punt” instead. American football terms have invaded the wine-making industry!
7. Anthony - October 8th, 2007 at 10:26 am
A Ferrule? I never even thought those little metal things had a name…
8. dalandzadgad - October 8th, 2007 at 11:05 am
haha, what a great list. i bet this one could be endless.
9. jfrater - October 8th, 2007 at 11:24 am
dalandzadgad: It certainly could!
10. Jackie - October 8th, 2007 at 12:21 pm
There’s a name for that metal thing on the end of a pencil? Does anybody else find this weird? haha
11. Brian - October 8th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
Aww hell honey, I done went and broke my keeper! Hand me another Schlitz.
12. Cyn - October 8th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
in the last century *grins* i temp’ed at Texas Instruments as a parts expeditor. so you’d be amazed at what things are called. they all gotta have name or else how can you re-order one? *grin*
13. Twyla - October 8th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
There needs to be an entire website devoted to these!!
14. Kelsi - October 8th, 2007 at 3:37 pm
“unless you’re Hitler, then it’s the part that your mustache covers.”
That got an audible laugh out of me, mostly becuase it was so unexpected.
Surprisingly, I knew a lot of these…Is that weird?
15. Dunfire - October 8th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
I always thought the the indent in wine bottles was called a “punt”. Maybe something else.
16. fgds - October 8th, 2007 at 6:03 pm
“Barse”
- The small hairy area between your balls and your arse.
17. Beatrice - October 8th, 2007 at 8:31 pm
Dunfire:
You’re right - it is a “punt.” It’s also a “kick.” They’re synonyms, I guess, as far as wine bottles are concerned
(But not in football.)
18. Gr8flDdFn - October 8th, 2007 at 9:22 pm
i had a science teacher in elementary school that used to tell us this that his grandfather used to call #8. Philtrum a snot troff, so ur boogers could run down the snot troff on a cold day right to your mouth. roflmfao.
and to #16 fgds, it’s called a cuzif.. cuz if you didn’t have that part there, your guts would fall out lmfao ;o).
19. fgds - October 8th, 2007 at 11:57 pm
cuzif! I’ve never heard of that before.
Speaking of hearing, the Tragus (#10) is used to reflect & focus sounds into your ear canal. The big flap part of your ear is called the Pinna. All those bumps and grooves on the Pinna are not aesthetic, they actually modify the frequencies of the sound slightly as it enters your ear. Your brain then uses this to help calculate which direction the sound is coming from.
Now. Isn’t that interesting?
20. jfrater - October 9th, 2007 at 12:00 am
fgds: It is very interesting - and also leads me to wonder how much the sounds we hear are distorted by this. I wonder if we can hear pure sound that is not modified at all by environmental factors.
21. Alex - October 9th, 2007 at 1:32 am
Or you can get an illustrated dictionary to find the whatchamacallits.
22. Late O’Day - October 9th, 2007 at 1:45 am
Meh. I knew every single one except #5 (the belt thingie).
23. TheBog - October 9th, 2007 at 5:27 am
Punt - not Kick, is what the indent on the bottle of wine is called… At least that’s what I was always told(?)
24. Morgaine - October 9th, 2007 at 7:16 am
I’ve heard that the “kick” or “punt” of a bottle depends of the kind of wine. Experts say that some really good wines need to be served exactly at some temperature, so that “kick” is used to put the thumb there and hold the bottle just with the fingertips, so you don’t warm it and it doesn’t lose its qualities.
About the philtrum, it’s a reminiscence of a “snout” (try pulling your upper lip together with the nose, you will see they “fit” :P). This “evolution” is so recent that some people are still born with what they call “hare snout”, that is to say, the philtrum is still sticked to the nose (It can be solved with surgery)
25. Brian - October 9th, 2007 at 7:35 am
Your def. of “kerf” is mildly inaccurate, or at least incomplete. A kerf is the groove made by a saw blade…in other words, the entire cut. It’s the space formerly occupied by your sawdust, not just the starter notch.
26. jfrater - October 9th, 2007 at 8:42 am
Based on the very wise comments here, I have made a few minor corrections. Thanks.
27. hiheckle jones - October 9th, 2007 at 8:58 am
The punt helps sequester the dregs.
28. TMo - October 9th, 2007 at 9:46 am
Two more words for the barse/cuzif are taint and gooch.
29. K VIlla - October 9th, 2007 at 11:18 am
I thought it would be a new list. This came out years ago in the Reader’s Digest. Nice effort though. Thanks!
30. pedantic wood shop dork - October 10th, 2007 at 7:01 am
So the Kerf is the dimention, not the cut itself. The kerf of the blade determines the width of the cut
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saw#Saw_terminology
31. Randomizer - October 10th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
I’ve always thought of the kerf as the cut, where the blade was, not the dimension.
Dictionary.com
a cut or incision made by a saw or the like in a piece of wood.
Merrian Webster says:
: a slit or notch made by a saw or cutting torch 2 : the width of cut made by a saw or cutting torch
So according to MW, I guess both are correct.
32. Diogenes - October 10th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
oh yeh?!?!.. gee.. I always wondered what “The groove made by a sawblade” was called.
Is there another word for “Phosphenes” when you rub your fists even harder into your eyes and create a faux phychedelic experience? Perhaps “Phosphenesicphychidellica”?
33. Beatrice Adams - October 10th, 2007 at 9:11 pm
K VIlla:
Hi. I’ve seen that Reader’s Digest issue you’re talking about, and yes, the idea came from that. It was a much longer list, though, and ferrule, keeper, phosphenes and tragus did not come from that list. Also, the pictures and definitions are different.
I know you mean no harm, but as a writer, I am very careful about such things.
Best regards,
Beatrice
34. Cassady - October 11th, 2007 at 12:12 am
a bunghole is actually the hole that the tap goes into on a keg. I always just thought it was a funny word said on beavis and butthead. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunghole
35. David - October 11th, 2007 at 7:50 am
Anyone remember Rich Hall’s sniglets from HBO’s “Not Necessarily The News”? The one that always stuck in my mind was “spud rubble”…the small crumbs left in the bottom of a bag of potato chips. lol
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sniglet
36. Don - October 12th, 2007 at 8:01 am
Actually I remember these were defined in the very first “Book of Lists” back in the late 70’s.
37. loop - October 12th, 2007 at 5:25 pm
“The Book of Lists”, and “Sniglets” are probably the two best reference volumes a “wordaphile” could have. Other great terms are: “hemidemisemiquaver” (a 1/64th note in music), and “frenum” (find that one on your own)
38. jfrater - October 12th, 2007 at 11:54 pm
loop: Having studied music for a time, I find hemidemisemiquaver completely normal!
39. Anya - October 19th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
perineum - The small hairy area between your balls and your arse.
Knowledge legitimately acquired through pre-medical school studies. Honest.
40. Crimanon - October 27th, 2007 at 8:20 am
barse, cuzif, taint, gooch, perineum… Any more??? I’m still chuckling at Barse. Oh yea!!! Choad, I forgot all about that one, had a friend back in high school who used to get called that.
41. theDEFENESTRATOR - October 27th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
reminded me of sniglets… although those aren’t technically legitimate words… like they’re not in a dictionary or anything (except the sniglets dictionary). still, they give names to things that don’t have names.
some of my favorites (that i can remember):
cheedle: the residue left on one’s fingertips after consuming a bag of cheetos
fods: a pair of tourists wearing matching (usually horrendous) outfits
furnidents: the depressions made in carpeting by furniture: feet of tables, etc.
cinemuck: the sticky stuff that causes your feet to stick to the floor of movie theaters
cinepeds: feet that magically appear over your shoulder while you’re watching a movie in a theater
cineplegic: someone whose feet have fallen asleep as a result of being wedged between the seats for too long (or in my case, because of sitting cross-legged during the entire movie because your legs are cold).
subatomic toasticles: minute bits of toast left behind in the butter
and my all-time favorite:
bovilexia: the uncontrollable NEED when driving past cows to stick your head out the window and yell “MOOOOOO!”
i could go on but this post is getting way too long. i’m sure there’s a sniglets website out there somewhere… too lazy to look for it.
42. alisa - November 1st, 2007 at 4:17 am
This is a great list! May be one of my favorites..but it’s hard to choose compared to all the other great ones you have already made.
43. Daniel Kim - November 3rd, 2007 at 6:35 pm
A ferrule is a generic name for a tube-like, usually metal, thingy that goes over things. I think there’s a part of a pool cue that’s called a ferrule. Camping tents that use fiberglas poles that come in sections have ferrules to hold the poles together.
I had always figured that “aglets” would be called ferrules, but I was wrong.
My genetics professor in college used to throw these names out during lectures, and then put them on exams for extra credit.
44. dofnup - November 13th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
I learned the name of various body parts through the body modification scene, since most piercings are named after the body part they pierce: tragus, philtrum, conch, frenum, etc.
45. Squonk - November 22nd, 2007 at 1:48 pm
“barse, cuzif, taint, gooch, perineum… Any more???”
How about “TWERNT”? cos if i”twernt” there your guts etc etc….
46. Darren - December 9th, 2007 at 7:49 am
Just out of interest. When cutting metal, the kerf may be the groove, but the tiny pieces of metal sticking out that need to be sanded down afterwards is called the burr
47. Justin - January 15th, 2008 at 8:09 am
You know those things often referred to as “coffee cozies” that keep your hands from burning while drinking a cup on the go?
They are really called… ready for this? Zarfs.
48. Stereo Mike - January 15th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Quick discussion - “chod” or “choad”? To me, “chod” is far more accurate as it’s a short, stubby word. “Choad” sounds long and thin.
49. Crimanon - January 15th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
I was never quite sure how to spell it. Choad, Chode, Chod (sounds like cod). Either way, aren’t there Too many names for something That odd/perverse???
50. devilishgrin66 - February 15th, 2008 at 1:28 am
I knew aglets (and eyelets are the holes that you lace your shoe through.
And also philtrum/tragus. Those are well known to anyone in the body modification community because they are often pierced, the philtrum when pierced is often called a medusa. aside from the tragus the other folds of the ear are rook, daith, conch, and anti- before any of them.
51. Face - February 18th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
haha
I only know what the tragus is because I just recently pierced it.
52. R J..Miamisburg, Oh - February 28th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
I recall Rubber Baby Bumpers and Muffler bearings..Knernufer blades and other items that Car Mechinics use to get more money from the customers. Rotating the Winter Air in your tires and putting Spring air in. TRUST ME this really happen to me back in 76 when I was working a FUll Serve Shell station. Guy came in and wanted the Winter Air out of his tires and fresh Srping air in. Charged him $5 a tire and had a nice pizza off it. Oh for the good old days.
53. Crimanon - February 28th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
HA! I tried to get my sister on the whole winter air thing too… she’s smarter than she looks. Rubber baby buggy bumpers, rubber baby buggy bumpers… it’s about as hard to say as it is hard to find a left handed screwdriver.
54. Flock O’Seagulls - March 17th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Rich Hall, formerly of SNL and Not Necessarily the News, invented Sniglets. My favorite was “Esso Asso”–someone who cuts through a gas station (or other business on a street corner)rather than wait for the light to change.
55. sue - March 17th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Someone talked about an aglet on a kids show I was watching sometime,and I thought they were kidding.shows how much i know!
56. Jim - April 13th, 2008 at 9:55 am
The “punt” of a bottle is NOT used to make it stronger.
57. Jim - April 13th, 2008 at 9:57 am
This is the problem with the internet. Someone makes a list, does NO research, and now it is FACT. You should check your facts first.
58. minjofu - May 18th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
I saw mention of Rich Hall’s snigglets? My mom still uses the term “Eastroturf” to this day (it’s the shredded plastic easter grass people use in easter baskets).. I used to think that was actually what it was called..
59. phil - May 18th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
is it just me or does anyone else not see the phosphenes?
60. eric - May 18th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
I have always been curious what that little dividing line is that separates my left and right nuts…..it MUST have a name…..?
61. emthings ^^ - May 19th, 2008 at 12:44 am
I’m surprised that the belt keeper was actually counted as a whatchamacallit. I knew the name of that thing from waaaaay back.
62. James Nelson - May 19th, 2008 at 1:39 am
Stop sending me porn!
63. Sara - May 19th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
If you work in real estate management, you know exactly what a bollard is because you have to deal with getting them replaced after dingbats run over them.
64. WinU - May 20th, 2008 at 10:37 am
Look this one up - smegma…
The fould smelling cheesy substance that gathers around the vagina or penus.
YUCK!
65. Val - June 19th, 2008 at 11:45 am
Haha! I knew what a tragus was, I have mine pierced ^_^
You should see the look people give me when I say, “My tragus is pierced”. Certainly not something the common person knows.
66. Alex - June 30th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
The image you have for “dingbat” does not show any dingbats. An example of a dingbat would be the little scissors indicating “cut here” or a picture of a telephone. What you’ve shown technically counts as punctuation.