whatchamacallit

Clipping of what-you-may-call-it. United States, 20th century (recorded in 1921).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈwɒtʃəməkɔːlɪt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈʍʌt͡ʃəməkɔlɪt/, /ˈwʌt-/, /ˈwʌt͡ʃməkɑlɪt/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈwɔtʃəməkɔːɫət/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: what‧cha‧ma‧call‧it

whatchamacallit (plural whatchamacallits)

1. (slang) A metasyntactic term used for any object whose actual name the speaker does not know or cannot remember; a doodad, gizmo, thingamajig, thingy.
   • 1921, Johnny Gruelle, Orphant Annie Story Book, Volume 7, page 69:

     The Thingamajig and the Wachamacallit.

   • 1969, J P Miller, stage adaptation by F. Andrew Leslie, The People Next Door, New York, N.Y.: Dramatists Play Service, →OCLC, act II, page 42:

     You’re—you must be the whatchamacallit, huh? The peer.

   • 1972, Carolyn Lane, Child of Air: A One Act Play, Denver, Colo.: Pioneer Drama Service, →OCLC, page 13:

     JESSICA: How many times do I have to say it? We were not stealing, Officer. We were just— / MONAHAN: I know. Performing some kind of whatchamacallit deed. Anyhow, they go to the clink, that's what happens to people who filch city property.

   • 1996, Corbett Mack, as told by Michael Hittman, “Boyhood (1892–1905)”, in Corbett Mack: The Life of a Northern Paiute (Studies in the Anthropology of North American Indians), Lincoln, Neb., London: University of Nebraska Press, →ISBN, page 60:

     I'm a boy, so when I'm sick, they can call in poohaghooma, Indian doctor. But not Tom Mitchell! No, sir! won't have Tom Mitchell to doctor me! 'Cause whatchamacallit, he always used to doctor me …

   • 1998, David Alan Black, “There’s No Place Like Rome: The Parts of Speech and Their Function”, in It’s still Greek to Me: An Easy-to-understand Guide to Intermediate Greek, Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, →ISBN, page 19:

     "Think we ought to check this whatchamacallit?" / "No, that doodad over there seems to be the problem."

   • 2001 [1992], Russell Heng, Lest the Demons Get to Me, revised version January 2001, via National Library Board Singapore, Act 1, page 4:

     You know, he looked at everybody and everything but not me as if just by letting his eyes rest on me for a moment would let out that he and I are having a whatchamacalit.

   • 2014 October, Don Pendleton, chapter 15, in Domination Bid (Don Pendleton’s Stony Man: America’s Ultra-covert Intelligence Agency; Gold Eagle Book), Don Mills, Ont.: Worldwide Library, →ISBN, page 180:

     As you've said, the safety of the American people is our first priority. We have orders that if these EMP whatchamacallits can't be secured then they must be destroyed.

• See Thesaurus:thingy

• whatchamacallit (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia