What Is That Thing Called?
It has happened to all of us. You want to talk about an object, but you forgot the name of it. Or you never knew the name at all. Maybe you are not even sure there is a word for it.
For example, that thing that you need to fix your bicycle. Or perhaps it is something you need for your computer.
What are these things?
They are called “doohickies.” A doohickey is a word you use when you do not know, or you have forgotten, the real name of an object.
The MacMillan Dictionary defines doohickey as “something such as a small object or tool that you cannot remember the name of.”
The dictionary lists a lot of strange words as synonyms for doohickey.
You will probably never see these words in official documents. But you might hear them in informal American English, when people are talking to each other.
“Hey, what does this doohickey do, anyway?”
“Dude, bring me that thingamajig, will ya?
“Janine, can you get me one of those whatchamacallits?”
Most Americans will know what you are talking about if you use one of those words.
