I just heard someone on a sitcom ad call a remote control a "flipper." We've been using that in our family for years, but I always thought it was our own personal clannish slang and never used it outside of the family. So I was surprised to hear it from the TV. Does anybody else call a remote control "the flipper"? Or anything else other than "the remote"?

the first place I got a whiff of this usage was on the Gary Shandling Show, in which one of his catch phrases (as a talk show host) was "No flipping!", going into a commercial break.

we call it a clicker, not a flipper or remote..

Clicker, flipper and the control in our house.

We call it the clicker or the channel changer.

We call it the remote, for some strange reason. We have six of them in one room. Two videos, one TV, one stereo, one DVD player, one CD player.

re:We have six of them in one room.

have you heard of the concept of a 'universal' remote?

you get them at your local radio shack (or similar type store) you spend about 15 minutes programing it.. and then, one remote controls a half dozen or so appliances..

the newest models will even work for your ceiling fixtures, or A/C units.

if you're very ambitious, you can even program your PDA (well Palms at least) to do it.. they can also be used to open car doors and garage doors..

Oh yeah, ot, we call it "the clicker", too....t'anks for reminding me. And sometimes we do say "the channel changer", but that was mostly back in the early days of having it and gave way to the less lugubrious nick-names.

remote.
and like Cap, we have several, including one "universal" remote. sadly, the stereo is too old to have one, gots get outta my chair to crank it up.

have you heard of the concept of a 'universal' remote?

Oh yes, that's the one where if you lose it, NOTHING works without getting up and changing/adjusting/starting it manually.

And, yes, the one of the video remotes is universal and can control I think three of the bits of kit.

When I was a child, we had one of the first TV models to have a remote (I think). At any rate, the technology was such that when the dog scratched herself behind the ear, jingling her collar, the channels changed. Well, it wasn't so bad since we only had three channels