Have you ever looked at an object and realized that you don't know what it is called? Or, perhaps, you know you should know what the name of the object is, but you can't remember that name? Maybe it's because I'm getting older -- or maybe I'm just forgetful -- but that seems to happen to me quite often. When it does happen, I sometimes substitute the actual name of the object with the word doohickey [doo-hik-ee], an noun meaning "a gadget, device, or object whose name is unknown or forgotten".
Not only is doohickey a fun word to say, it is also synonymous with other amusing words including doodad, thingamabob, thingamajig, dingus, whatchamacallit, and gizmo. The fact that there is a whole slew of words to replace the real name of an object leads me to believe that I'm not the only one who ever forgets the names of things!
Please hand me that little doohickey over there --
the one next to that big thingamabob.
What is this doohickey used for anyway?
What do you call an object when you don't know (or can't think of) its real name?
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