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Rapunzel<<<<
I came across an interesting little word yesterday while looking up an entirely different one:
prick·et n.
A small point or spike for holding a candle upright.
A candlestick having such a spike
I just have to add this your post. I saw this by happenstance while also looking up another word:
Bobeche
a slightly cupped ring placed over the socket of a candleholder to catch the drippings of a candle
FWIW, who knows, if we keep this on, we might yet be able to name all the parts of a candleholder before the year is over!
chronist
In that English is packed with generic nouns to describe the things we cannot truly name (whatsit, thingamajig, thingamabob, doohickey, whatchamacallit, gadget)I would come down on the side of simply not knowing the proper name of every object we encounter during the day.
On the other hand, in that this phenomenon is more likely to occur during an actual conversation (as opposed to appearing in print), sometimes it's disruptive to the flow of the conversation to pause and try to come up with the proper word when circumlocution and context serve to illustrate one's point.
Welcome aBoard, elee. Disruptive to conversations--you are so right! I absolutely hate it when people give me these
big pauses in mid-sentence, whether they're doing it for effect, or genuinely can't remember. I just wanna say,
"Out with it already!". But--confess I do it myself! Partly because of distractions, and mostly because my mouth can't keep up with my thoughts. All too often, when I'm speaking, my mind is in one or two other places, causing me to lose concentration on what I'm saying. I know I drive my children crazy when I begin, "and, um...".
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