Whatchamacallits, doohickeys and thingamajigs; those famous words have been spoken many times by rather intelligent people, usually when they cannot remember the name of the item in question. As we get older we tend to use these words, because we have a hard time remembering. I speak from experience!
These have become actual words and are therefore listed in the Merriam Webster Dictionary. When I investigated how these expressions became words, I found that they have been part of the colloquial language for years, and finally morphed into being part of the spoken English.
Between Marion and I, we have a few whatchamacallits, a couple of doohickeys and some thingamajigs scattered throughout our house and garage! It is stated in the dictionary that whatchamacallit can also be used to describe a person, although I would not recommend that you address the RCMP officer with that expression. Ole didn’t know how to address the RCMP officer that had pulled him over for speeding, so he said, “Good afternoon whatchamacallit, what can I do for you?” The officer made Ole get out of the car, close his eyes and walk a straight line, blow in the handheld Alco tester (doohickey?), and then he smiled and gave Ole a speeding ticket.
In our house the word whatchamacallit is reserved for other items such as unmentionables and other hard-todescribe undergarments. Ole had gained some weight, so when he was invited to speak at the local seniors’ club, he bought a corset to minimize the protrusion of his midriff. Lena helped Ole put it on, and draped a white shirt over it. With nothing else on, Ole looked at himself in the fulllength mirror, and asked Lena what she thought. “I can still see your whatchamacallit!” said Lena. “Oh Lena,” said Ole, “I was referring to the corset!” “So was I,” said Lena, “not your thingamajig!”
But doohickeys are reserved for the most part to describe any electronic item that has to do with a camera or modems for the TV or PC, including printers and such. The word doohickey generally refers to a memory stick. It could also be used to describe an item or a part that has to do with light fixtures.
Ah! Thingamajigs! What a wonderful word! It rolls so easy from the lips! It can describe anything in the world! The use of the word could be describing a part of an automobile, and not only confined to the engine. In older models before fuel injection, it was used to describe any part of the ignition system. Some females with blonde hair might also use it to describe the oil dip stick or the filler cap. Lately thingamajig has been used to describe the dash mounted GPS.
Ole took a taxi when he got to Vancouver and asked the driver why he didn’t have one of those thingamajigs that give driving direction. However, as I have learned, it has also been used for household items. Sven and Kari had just bought a new house that came with a woodburning fireplace, and Kari suggested that they go to the store and purchase that thingamajig with all the fireplace tools.
After much nagging from his wife, Knut was visiting the audiologist. The doctor examined him and told Knut that he would need hearing aids. The nurse showed Knut an assortment of hearing aids that ranged in price from $10 to $2,000. Being a senior on a small pension he decided to try the $10 pair. The nurse placed the hearing aids into his ears and hung a wire around his neck.
“Does the wire really have to be around my neck?” asked Knut. “Why of course!” replied the nurse. “You think those doohickeys in your ears do anything?! It’s the wire around your neck – it makes people speak louder!”
“Hey Ole,” called Knut. “Check out my new hearing aids. I can hear a pin drop!”
“Really?” asked Ole, “that’s unbelievable. I am actually looking for hearing aids too. What type is it?”
“Four o’clock,” responded Knut.
“C’mon Ma you have got to try it,” Sven pleaded with his elderly Mother. Sven didn’t know how his mother had lasted this long without ever using the Internet, but enough was enough he thought.
“Ok,” said his mother, reluctantly settling down by the computer and slowly putting on her reading glasses. She grabbed the mouse and asked Sven, “What does this thingamajig do?”
“That’s a mouse and it controls the cursor,” said Sven. “Now I’m going to open the home page of Google,” explained Sven. “OK now type any question you want into the bar over here and it will give the answer to your question,” Sven assured her.
His mother looked at Sven warily, thought for a second, and slowly began to type, “Can Lena come over for coffee this morning?”
Two very elderly gentlemen were enjoying the sunshine on a park bench in Saskatoon. They had been meeting at that park every sunny day for over 12 years, just chatting, and enjoying each other’s friendship. One day, the younger of the two gentlemen, turns to the other and says “Please don’t be angry with me, but I am embarrassed, after all these years meeting with you here on this whatchamacallit. What is your name? I have been trying to remember, but I just can’t get it.”
The older friend stared at him, looking very distressed, said nothing for two full minutes, and finally with tearful eyes he said, “How soon do you have to know?”
