[00:00.20]載嗣泭薯③溼恀51voa.com [00:05.16]Now, the VOA Learning English program Words and Their Stories. [00:11.20]It has happened to all of us. [00:14.00]You want to talk about an object, [00:16.76]but you forgot the name of it. [00:19.40]Or you never knew the name at all. [00:22.92]Maybe you are not even sure there is a word for it. [00:27.36]For example, [00:28.88]that thing that you need to fix your bicycle. [00:32.60]Or perhaps it is something you need for your computer. [00:36.68]Or that part on your motorcycle that never, ever seems to work. [00:42.36]What are these things? [00:44.20]They are called "doohickies." [00:46.97]A doohickey is a word you use when you do not know, [00:51.60]or you have forgotten, the real name of an object. [00:56.16]The MacMillan Dictionary defines doohickey [00:59.48]as "something such as a small object [01:02.72]or tool that you cannot remember the name of." [01:07.40]The American Heritage Dictionary says [01:10.36]it is "something, especially a small device or part, [01:15.16]whose name is unknown or forgotten." [01:19.28]Language experts say the word first started being used [01:23.61]in the United States in the early 1900s. [01:27.52]But other experts say they have seen examples of words like these [01:33.08]in writings from the middle 1800s. [01:36.96]The Merriam-Webster Dictionary for Learners of American English [01:41.48]gives this example of how native speakers might use doohickey: [01:46.84]"I need one of those doohickeys, you know, with the long handle." [01:51.88]Merriam-Webster adds that doohickey [01:54.80]may be a combination of two other words: [01:58.24]"doodad" and "hickey." [02:00.48]Strange as it may be, both of these words mean the same as doohickey. [02:06.24]The dictionary lists a lot of strange words as synonyms for doohickey. [02:12.16]The most common are whatchamacallit, [02:15.56]whatnot and whatsit. [02:18.07]You will probably never see these words in official documents or newspaper reports. [02:24.64]But you might hear them in informal American English, [02:28.64]when people are talking to each other. [02:31.48]"Hey, what does this doohickey do, anyway?" [02:35.08]"Dude, bring me that thingamajig, willya? [02:38.20]"Janine, can you get me one of those whatchamacallits?" [02:43.12]Most Americans will know what you are talking about [02:46.24]if you use one of those words. [02:48.36]Just point at the object, [02:50.60]use one of these words, and they will bring it to you. [02:54.76]Doohickey and words like it have their own page on the Wikipedia website. [03:00.52]Wikipedia calls them "placeholders." [03:04.16]It says words like these are usually nouns [03:08.08]and "can be used for people, objects and places." [03:12.76]Unofficial studies show [03:15.12]Americans are using words like doohickey less than they once did. [03:20.68]The decline seems to have started a few years ago. [03:25.32]Still, a recent search of Google News [03:28.44]showed the word was used in more than 1,000 news articles in just a couple months. [03:35.28]One story told about a store where you can buy a cable [03:39.68]that connects a thingamajig to a doohickey. [03:44.04]Another told about a doohickey for eggs [03:47.44]and even a doohickey that connects to a camera. [03:51.60]Workers who repair Kawasaki motorcycles [03:54.92]use the word doohickey to describe the vehicle's [03:58.88]"counter balancing chain adjustment mechanism." [04:02.68]You can see a video of them using the word on YouTube. [04:06.84]I'm Anna Matteo. [04:08.60]This Words and Their Stories was written by Christopher Jones Cruise. [04:14.44]Words in This Story [04:17.16]motorcycle 每 n. a vehicle with two wheels [04:21.16]that is powered by a motor and that can carry one or two people [04:25.76]synonym(s) 每 n. a word that has the same meaning as another word in the same language [04:32.60]handle 每 n. a part of something that is designed to be held by your hand [04:39.04]informal 每 adj. not formal, [04:42.72]such as having a friendly and relaxed quality [04:46.84]cable 每 n. a strong rope made of wires that are twisted together [04:53.12]Does your language have words for things [04:55.88]for which you don't know the name? We'd like to know what they are. [04:59.92]Tell us about them in the comments section. [05:09.40]The song ending this show is "Doo Hickey" by Ben Colder.