All you gotta do is decode the nombrenom ONCE -- if the full numeric wasn't given you, too. Then you can put that in your address book, etc.

And I agree that the nombrenom is not always all that helpful if it's not an obvious word like the person's or company's name. But some, like 1-800- SHOP TJ's for finding the nearest Trader Joe's store or 1-800-AAA- Help, can be very useful. It saves you having to memorize a meaningless string of numbers -- and then not being sure if "Let's see... was that 555-3210 or 555-3120?"

Even with less obvious ones, this kind of mnemonic can really help folks remember your number. I once had friends whose number was "Cat meux," and my own number was once "cheap VO." I never had trouble remembering those friends' number, and lots of my friends found mine very easy to remember, too.

As I said, you don't HAVE to keep translating the mnemonic every time you want to call the number. Just do it once and then you can throw away the memory aid, if that's your preference.