whatchamacallit
idiom

- something whose name has been forgotten or is not known

(The American Heritage Dictionary)

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WORD ORIGIN

WHATCHAMACALLIT is an alteration of "what you may call it." It's a classic example of what happens to any language when laziness sets in. Instead of taking the time to clearly pronounce something, we slur words or phrases together.

Some would argue that this has little to do with laziness and more to do with how dialects evolve. This is true for certain words and phrases. In this case however, the use of WHATCHAMACALLIT goes beyond the boundaries of dialects. Its use has become fairly universal in the English-speaking universe.

WHATCHAMACALLIT has a long list of synonyms that generally defy explanation. But they add a little fun and humour to the language:

Words that begin with "thing":

- thingamabob, thingamajig, thingmabob, thingmajig, thingumabob, thingumajig, thingummy

Words that begin with "what":

- whatchamacallum, whatsis

Words that begin with "doo":

- doodad, doohickey, doojigger

And then there's gizmo, gismo and widget (generally used for devices and equipment), gubbins and gimmick.

Finally, one of the most useful words in the English language is "stuff." It's used as a container word for a group or collection of things that can't be described individually, such as what might be found in the corner of a teenager's room (Robert, please pick up that stuff over there and put it away!).

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PRACTICE OWAD IN A CONVERSATION TODAY

Say something like:

"Please pick up that WHATCHAMACALLIT over there before someone trips over it."