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Joined: Apr 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
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"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
"Of fizgigs, flukes and folderol--
"Of frumpery and feazings--
"And where the boondocks can be found--
"And why whangdoodles have no wings."
-Alison Wonderlicht
there must be a gazillion of these; but here are a few:
gadgets: gizmos, doohickeys, thingamabobs, doodads, widgets, whirligigs
knicknacks: gimcracks, trangams, whigmaleeries, fizgigs, tchotchkes, bibelots, folderol
from Mad magazine (in the 50s): veeblefetzer, furshlugginer, squamish (the 43-man variety)
from my friend John: contravivulating, goofaglarbian, furthermoreover
others: pakaloomer, brackerfritch, farshimalt(?)
anyone ever heard these latter three?
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
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whirligigs--isn't this a real thing? --any one of several small, usually hand crafted toys that have movement but do nothing (a New England egg beater-- it has the crank and gears, but no "whisks" at the end). they are meant as toys to keep children busy. There is an other one that has a crank the drive a small piston clockwise in a X slot routed in a 3 inch block of wood.
Where as a thingamajig, or thingamabog, is a meaningless word? (or rather a noun that does not name a thing!)
and I guess that is one category of words--nouns that are not the names of a person, place or thing, where as i saw meaningless words as the verbal "fluff" added by careless speakers. yaknow?
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Joined: Jul 2000
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,094 |
whirligigs--isn't this a real thing? --any one of several small, usually hand crafted toys that have movement but do nothing
Well, I would assume that the term whirligig probably came from this because, if it doesn't do anything, it can usually be considered meaningless.
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Joined: Aug 2000
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204 |
So many mind-stimulating posts, that I do not know where to start.
Names to obscure one's real job - I prefer Chief Assistant to the Assistant Chief (which is how I describe MY job!)
Widgets are an example of a meaningless word that has been adopted and now has a real meaning (indeed, it injects somethingor other unnatural into my canned beer - it's enough to make me go back to home brewing! says he in disgust)
Surely words like "thingamajig" aren't nouns that describe nothing - they are describing everything - or, more properly, they have a universality that becomes specific only by reference to their context.
I have a vague feeling in the back of my head that whirligig is an archaic term for the smallish, dancing type of insect that hangs around damp areas and make nuisances of themselves at picnics. One can see how such a name could be transferred to all of the other things that we use it for.
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veteran
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OP
veteran
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,346 |
The 4th category, perhaps, is for Meaningless Words coined by someone who thinks that they do have a meaning.
I like this! But 'Creative Mondegreenism'... hmmm. You mean it sounds meaningful to the person talking, but actually means nothing?
Can anyone think of any examples??
This could be amusing...
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 197
member
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member
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 197 |
tchotchkes,
I apparently missed this one when I read tsuwm's post the first time. My former employer has a whole line of keychain-watches, bottle-opener-watches, flashlight-watches, picture-frame-watches that they proudly claimed as tchotchkes. They were proud of their meaningless junk!
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Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 444
addict
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addict
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 444 |
>whirligigs--isn't this a real thing? --any one of several small, usually hand crafted toys that have movement but do nothing< What I used to call a whirligig is what everyone in Australia calls a Hill's Hoist. (Help me, how to explain this without a picture???) An upright metal pole, with three or four 'spokes' protruding at right angles from it at the top. Wires run between these spokes creating a web of washing lines. YOu hang your washing on it and the whole contraption rotates in the breeze. The Hill's Hoist is a sophisticated model with a winch, so that you can lower the lines to hang washing out, then raise them high up to dry. It is touted as an example of Australian design ingenuity, though I am not sure whether it is the overall spider web shape or the winch amendment that is the basis of this ingenuity. PS Have now gone and investigated on the web. What I mean by all the garbage above is apparently a 'rotating clothesline.' http://www.hills.com.au
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 315
enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 315 |
For example, this:
>>PS Have now gone and investigated on the web.
The first rule we learn is that English sentences HAVE to have a subject, but I found sentences like this one several times in this Board , usually avoiding " I ". Is there a rule?
Ciao
Emanuela
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 197
member
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member
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 197 |
Emanuela,
In most cases, when you see a sentence, which should have the subject I, but does not, the speaker (writer) is speaking in an informal manner. It is incorrect, but understood in an informal setting.
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Joined: Sep 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
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Is there a rule?
Oh yes - it is the Catch22 of English:
All rules have exceptions, including this one.
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