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Creating your own name for something
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Subject: Creating your own name for something From: Tucker Date: 27 Apr 99 - 12:34 AM The names for things put me to thinking.....dangerous that. If you could name something you use everyday what would you call it besides it's present common name. For example; I call my portable phone: My walkabout. Just curious........ |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: katlaughing Date: 27 Apr 99 - 02:49 AM Tucker: I saw your posting about your phone in another thread and Ive already started to call my phone that! I love it! This will take some thought. One of my cats usually gets called "hoodlum" instead of his real name. Our border collie whose real name is Merlee, really is a "merdog", but these are not what I think you're looking for. This will be a fun thread with this creative lot. katlaughing |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Steve Parkes Date: 27 Apr 99 - 03:28 AM "Trex" is a popuar name for cats over here. It's actually a well-known proprietary brand of cooking fat ... work it out! Steve |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: The_one_and_only_Dai Date: 27 Apr 99 - 05:43 AM I once had a cat named 'Atora' for the same reason. Similarly, a friend had one called 'Ramekin', this being a small thing you put food in. |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: bill\sables Date: 27 Apr 99 - 07:11 AM We have a dog called Emma but she sometimes gets called Emmaroyd when she is a pain in the a**e Cheers Bill |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Helen Date: 27 Apr 99 - 07:30 AM Tucker, Ever since I read a funny/satiric book about non-sexist language I have referred to my Walkman (radio/cassette player) as a Walkperson. It gets a laugh almost every time I say it. Helen |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: sharon Date: 27 Apr 99 - 08:36 AM My 5 year old granddaughter calls an umbrella an "Underbrella". Makes sense to me! |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Bert Date: 27 Apr 99 - 08:44 AM When my daughter was small she called a helicopter a heflopper, a much more descriptive word which is standard in our family now. Bert. |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Margo Date: 27 Apr 99 - 09:44 AM My husband and I call our kids grunkies. They're really cute but they can be so........grunky. Margie |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: katlaughing Date: 27 Apr 99 - 10:16 AM Oh, this is so much fun! I had a friend whose really young sister couldn't pronounce A&W, the drive in where we always went for root beer. She called it Ay (as in day) & dee ubbee yah. We one had a cat I named chop suey, because that is what I threatened to make her into; she was ALWAYS in my houseplants! My sisters, who are identical twins, had a language of their own when they were babies. I wasn't around, so don't remember, but have head one of their words was "gah-doink". Don't know what it meant. other pet names: Wrinkles, Shu Montu, Heyokah, Shadowfax (she also gets called eye-shadow), Kazell, Kaysha, Sasheen, etc., etc. kat
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Sheye Date: 27 Apr 99 - 10:25 AM Skysk - the abreviation of "excuse me please" and bazoinka - term of endearment, similar to goofball. |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: AllisonA(Animaterra) Date: 27 Apr 99 - 11:23 AM Fun! I think a lot of made-up names come from families, especially the mouths of young children. We have a whole vocabulary of weird words and for the life of me I can't think of any examples right now! Oh! "vooshter" for the salad spinner that goes "voosht" when you pull the string. Pretty lame, but it's the best I can do on short notice. I'll come up with some better ones in due time. Allison |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: ANNA Date: 27 Apr 99 - 11:59 AM Someone sent these to me and this thread made think of these and though their new definitions for old word instead of new words, I think they might fit here. The following definitions are from the Washington Post Style Invitational (a weekly contest for readers). The idea of this one is simply to redefine words from the dictionary - no added or changed letters. Abdicate - v. To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach. Carcinoma - n. A valley in California, notable for its heavy smog. Esplanade - v., to attempt an explanation while drunk. Willy-nilly - adj., impotent. Flabbergasted - adj., appalled over how much weight you have gained. Negligent - adj., describes a condition in which you absent-mindedly answer the door in your nightie. Lymph - v. To walk with a lisp. Gargoyle-n., an olive-flavored mouthwash. Bustard - n., a very rude Metrobus driver. Coffee - n., a person who is coughed upon. Flatulence - n., the emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller. Balderdash - n., a rapidly receding hairline. Semantics - n., pranks conducted by young men studying for the priesthood, including such things as gluing the pages of the priest's prayer book together just before vespers. Rectitude - n., the formal, dignified demeanor assumed by a proctologist immediately before he examines you. Marionettes - n., residents of Washington D.C. who have been jerked around by the former mayor. Oyster - n., a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddish expressions. Circumvent - n., the opening in the front of boxer shorts Enjoy, Anna
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: KingBrilliant Date: 27 Apr 99 - 12:16 PM My daughter Amoret was convinced that we go to 'madenals'.She was furious when she found out it was not a real word - having been trying to explain to her teacher about where she had been. This is because we went to Womad festival, closely followed by the Bracknell festival (which she pronounced Brackernell). She once thought fireworks were called 'missed-its' (for obvious reasons!) She calls the local discount shop 'the custard shop'. When I asked her why, she explained that the two young brothers that run the shop just remind her of custard. Tragically, I understood exactly what she meant - they are both sandy-haired and for some reason just really do look like custard. My mother is convinced that people put their cars in multi-coloured starparks. (multi-storey carparks) We drink Cidra, and watch the smelly-vision. Our van has a wengine (another one of Amoret's) And there are boogaloogas in our bath sometimes (little fluffy scummy bits). Kris
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: campfire Date: 27 Apr 99 - 01:52 PM A litle boy near and dear to me calls my computer the "pacuder" and its kindof stuck. A different little friend, when visiting his father overnight, slept in the trundle bed that pulled out from under his Dad's. "Trundle" not meaning anything to a five-year old, he understandably thought it was a "turtle bed" - and so it is. |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Bert Date: 27 Apr 99 - 01:54 PM And the new VW is called a 'Bugly' Bert. |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Barbara Date: 27 Apr 99 - 02:36 PM Bert, that's called "Bugly", not "a" Bugly. From the daughter when she was younger: fuzzy water (carbonated or fast flowing, like into the tub) Garoana (granola or gorilla, the name of her stuffed one) win'shiel'pers (one sylable too many) computadora and from a friend: dead food store - (Canned Foods and the like that sell discontinued brands and styles) And in my family we always call a present you give someone else that is really for yourself, a "football". It derives from the time my father and his two brothers saved up and gave my grandmother a football for her birthday. (Actually, they'd overheard her telling a friend she wanted a "fruitbowl", and misheard her; "fruitbowl" not being in the forefront of a 12 yr old boy's mind the way "football" is.) Blessings, Barbara |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Cara Date: 27 Apr 99 - 05:40 PM Apologizing in advance, we call Michigan "Militiagan" Isn't "computadora" an actual word in Spanish? My little cousin called nail polish "poll nailish" and it stuck. As children we got away with repeating mu dad when he said that our whole fam-damily was bass-ackwards. We also say, when other people are impatient waiting for us, that they're "walking backwards". I've no idea why. Twas brillig, and the slithy toves did wyre and gimbol... |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Tucker Date: 27 Apr 99 - 05:53 PM I never thought this would bring this many responses! Great stuff folks. Barbara's story reminds me of my 77 year old mother. One recent Christmas she didn't have a clue as to what to get me so she searched and searched for a Monkey Clock. She thought she had heard me talking about how beutiful they were. Well, she was a wee bit addled. I had been talking about an antique GingerBread Clock (that sounded strange to me too first time I heard it). Hey Kat, glad you liked my word. Thank you. P.S. Luckily Mom didn't find any clocks made in the form of a monkey (I would have had to keep it on display). Instead I got a very nice mantel clock from her. Happy ending. |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Alice Date: 27 Apr 99 - 06:08 PM I haven't heard "famdamily" since I was a kid. Reminds me of home.
The only two I could think of are names for discount stores (why is it common to rename stores with your own word?)
We call K-Mart, Came-Apart and Gibson's, Gib-Junk. |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: katlaughing Date: 27 Apr 99 - 06:15 PM hey! I worked at a Gibson, in another incarnation! My son called Taco Bell, Taco Hell, because he had to work there. My brother called Holyoke, MA, Holysmokes and we never pronounced Groton CT like it supposed to as in Grawtun. we always tried to croak it like a frog, so it came out Grrrotn, sorta. The local Target store has a little bit better stuff than walmart, whcih we call Walsmart, so those of us who are a cut above call give it a French sound by calling it Tar shay. I know there are more family one, just gone blank; no on cue clues! kat |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Guy Wolff Date: 27 Apr 99 - 07:11 PM I went to a Prep school named High Mowing School in Wilton New Hampshire {The name came from the fact that the school had been a farm on top of a hill}. WE sent a letter there as follows ........John Dow... Hide Molting School... Wilting...Nude Hampsters.. Later I sent a second to John Dow.... Hide Molting School ...Willing.. Nude Hampsters .They both arived fine........My daughter did not see TV so had no back ground to McDonalds but her first words were "Yellow Store ! Yellow Store!" spocken at high desables pointing out the window of the car at those lovely archs...GO figure...My three year old calls a Helacopter a hopper-plane or Hopping-plane .......All my best to everyone Guy...........`````````````.... |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Twilight Date: 27 Apr 99 - 10:17 PM My baby brother (he's twenty six now and would kill me if he saw this : )) used to pronuonce the letter 'W' as woubble-you, a helicopter became a humflicopter and spaghetti was bassketti.
There was also the child who every night religiously reeled of 'Gentle Jesus meek and mild' and whenever he got to the bit 'pity my simplicity' he always wondered why we should pity mice in particular, and where exactly *was* Plicity... Vibeke :) |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Cuilionn Date: 27 Apr 99 - 11:27 PM Ma sister is disabled an' cannae speak muckle, but she hears verra weel. When she wis wee, she usit tae try an' get her ideas across wi' a combination o' sign language an' partial sounds an' whate'er else she cuid come up wi'. She's 21 year auld, th' noo, an' still maistly non-verbal, but an excellent poet, wi' an acute sense o' th' power an' beauty o' language. When she wis a wee bairn, tryin' tae let us ken what she wantit aroond th' hoose, she stairtit pointin' tae her elbow an' then luikin' at us wi' a hopefu' expression. We cuidnae unnerstand ava'. Finally, ane day, she pointit tae her elbow, then grabbit ma hand an' marchit me intae th' kitchen. She then pointit imperiously at th' fridge. I openit th' door o' th' fridge, an' she luikit up at me, pointit tae her elbow, an' then pointit meaningfully at th' jar o' applesauce on th' top shelf. She'd been hopin' we'd figger oot th' pun... We've referrit tae that particular substance as "Elbowsauce" e'er since!!! --Cuilionn |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Big Mick Date: 27 Apr 99 - 11:43 PM When my oldest daughter, Cass who is now 23, was a darling three year old she referred to ketchup as cowpoose. It has been that ever since, and everyone in the family still calls it that. Mick |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: ddw in windsor Date: 28 Apr 99 - 01:07 AM Years ago my sister and her husband lived in Hickory, NC and there son, Criss, used to play with a little boy next door who had a speech impediment -- an "F" substitution for anything that started with a consonent plus and R. Nobody thought too much of it -- just something a three-year-old would grow out of -- when he called my nephew "Fiss," but I'm told it caused quite a stir when the pastor from their church stopped by and Sonny began explaining to him how angry his mother was when his dad brought home his new truck. True story? I'm not sure, because my brother-in-law was pretty good at dreaming up tales like that, but Sonny really did call Criss "Fiss" -- that I heard.... Anna... Great list. cheers, ddw |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Tucker Date: 28 Apr 99 - 01:52 AM Cuilionn, I love tae storie lass, wae ya believe there aer siml'r accents hae in me hielands? Loved yer tale. Mick, even though I love ketchup I am more that willing to accept Kowpoose as it's offical name. I would have named it Rolaidsstuff but kowpoose is better. Next time I'm in Burger Death I'll tell them " Hold the Kowpoose, Hold the lettuce, only your burgers upset us" DDW, this was a lark and I must confess it is much more fun than my futile gas boycott joke. Loved your story. Once as a young janitor our city was celebrating it's 150 birthday so they made it an impromtu law that it was illegal to shave. I was 14, at my first job. My boss was in his middle 40's and was growing his first beard to join the civic spirit. In front of him his son ask how I thought his beard looked. My brain said one thing, my mouth another. I meant to say it didn't look like a fake....fill in the rest. Lucky for me, Roger had a sense of humor. We laughed about the gaff all summer but I still get embarrassed to this day when I think about the look on his face when I first said it. |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Craig Date: 28 Apr 99 - 02:10 AM Where I live we used to have a couple of newspapers that are now defunct. One was The Vista Press which we would call The Vicious Press and the other one was the Coast Dispatch which became the Coast Disgrace. Craig |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: katlaughing Date: 28 Apr 99 - 04:00 AM Ah, the one I grew up with is still in existense. Instead of the Daily Sentinel, we called the Daily Senile. |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Barbara Date: 28 Apr 99 - 04:14 AM Newspapers always catch it, don't they? We have one called the Statesman Journal (Urinal) and another the News Register (Resister). That second one is pretty accurate, and the first is a Gannett McPaper, so call it what you like. |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: katlaughing Date: 28 Apr 99 - 05:19 AM And poor old Vernal, Utah gets called Venereal. |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: KingBrilliant Date: 28 Apr 99 - 06:26 AM My dear mother sends parcels via postal farce (parcel force actually). My Japanese nephews can't pronounce 'Amoret', and laughed like drains because it sounds exactly like Omlette to them. Crying at thing which are sad or particularly moving is called 'Daddy disease' - because our strong silent type head of the house is apt to get very wet around the eyes when watching tear-jerking TV or listening to favourite songs.
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Banjer Date: 28 Apr 99 - 06:46 AM Having just read and caught up to this thread I can draw naught but a blank right now. The only thing that does come to mind readily is the more descriptive term I use for butterflies, FLUTTERBYES. I will write down anything that comes to me and post here later. This IS fun... |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Alice Date: 28 Apr 99 - 09:47 AM Newspapers, ah yes, easy to poke fun at, just like the discount stores. People call our daily paper, the Bozeman Chronicle, the Bozeman Comical. And I thought I made up "flutterbies" when I was little! |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Tucker Date: 28 Apr 99 - 10:10 AM One of our local papers is " the community common" or as I call it " the community communist". The Portsmouth Daily times just rates "Rag". I think we could start a different thread about papers. We all have some pretty solid thoughts on those eh? |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Cara Date: 28 Apr 99 - 10:18 AM Our paper, The Newark Advocate, was the Aggravate. Taco Bell was Toxic Hell, and I want credit for inventing the frenchification of Tar-zhet please Kat! |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Roger the zimmer Date: 28 Apr 99 - 11:11 AM My late mother bought a shiny top in what she described (in company)as "gold durex" (lurex). She never understood why my dad & I had hankies stuffed in our mouths to suppress giggles. (note to Americans like calling it Trojan, didn't mean to resurrect condom theme!) |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Steve Parkes Date: 28 Apr 99 - 12:35 PM One of my mother's favorite tunes is "Peanut Bender"! |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: annamill Date: 28 Apr 99 - 01:01 PM I had to change my name because when I became a member there already was an "anna". I think it was me. Well, anyway.. Here in NY we call Chemical Bank, Comical Bank. My friend Dan, calls OfficeMax, OrficeMax and sometimes I refer to FORD product as "Fix Or Repair Daily". That ones probably old. When my son, James, was 3 or so, we had a cat named Pywacket from Bell, Book and Candle. One day, when I served him Apple Pie and told him to eat his pie, he was very confused as he looked down in puzzlement at poor Py. Thank you, ddw, glad you liked them. I thought they were cute too. This is fun! Anna
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: sharon Date: 28 Apr 99 - 01:07 PM My granddaughter loves it when I mow the grass, because she likes to go walk in the "bunnygrass"......her word for the new mown grass. My daughter, many years ago, said I should learn how to make "old rotten potatoes" like they have at school (au gratin) |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Cara Date: 28 Apr 99 - 02:04 PM My cousin Taylor insists that the words to that Beatles song are "Strawberry fields for rabbits". And so now they are, within the fam. Speaking of mangled lyrics... |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Tucker Date: 28 Apr 99 - 06:28 PM mangled lyrics.....how bout, all the head lice on the highway (some people actually seem to hear this in the song) for head lights on the highway. I started thinking about my original thread idea here and realized that I had forgot one of my favorite self created words. Having once cussed like a drunken sailor it finally dawned on me in my later years that it is sometimes impolite (!!!!!!). I changed my speech to include "Balderdash and Poppycock to substitute for some of them but it just didn't fill all the void. One day I was helping my daughter draw pictures when my crayola broke, hence now my favorite expletive "Crapola". |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Matthew B. Date: 28 Apr 99 - 06:59 PM Back to the subject of alternate names (as opposed to endearing malaprops by children and others), let me try to make some up right now: Juice strainer (my teeth) Spot catcher (my tie) Sunglass holders (my ears) Mobile home (my briefcase) Face warmers (my cats) Trouble maker (my... oops, forget that one) |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Tucker Date: 28 Apr 99 - 08:40 PM Matt, I didn't mention williewong did I? It's been my lawyer's favorite name that I invented. He wants me to go into publishing. |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Matthew B. Date: 29 Apr 99 - 07:12 PM Tucker - Williwong is recognizable because it's a composite of two pre-existing nicknames. How about some more?
Anonymizer (sunglasses) |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Guy Wolff Date: 29 Apr 99 - 08:26 PM I live in a very pritty, old new england town where zoning is very strick to hold onto the feel of traditional archuecture and the rest of it.I have heard some irratable types call the historical so."the Histarical So."....................... |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Alice Date: 29 Apr 99 - 09:09 PM Hey, we call the historical point signs on the highway "hysterical points"... what a co-inkadink!! |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Barbara Date: 29 Apr 99 - 09:26 PM And the folks in the Hysterical Society have an Edifice Complex? |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: Margo Date: 29 Apr 99 - 09:49 PM Jack used to work for Safeway grocery store, of course he calls it "Slaveway". Shakespeare is "Willy the Shake". |
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Subject: RE: Creating your own name for something From: katlaughing Date: 29 Apr 99 - 09:53 PM Oh, you guys are good!!! guy, living in New England inspired one of my more humorous editorial, called the "NO Relief Zone". It's about the fact that there are no public facilities from the border of RI, through to Groton, CT, for the casual traveller who chooses not to go into an eatery and partake for the privilege of using the resident potty. Mystic had a great debate about putting some in downtown and never could get together on it, partly due to aesthetics. Last time I was there, it was still potty-less. In my ed. I suggested giant litter boxes behind strategically places shrubs, as young men were constantly using my backyard to pee in, when visiting the next door minimart! If you'd like copy, I'd be happy to email it to you. Hell, its been published, Maybe some day I'll submit it to Yankee Mag! Out here, any sagebrush is happy to oblige, but they still put in these wonderfully, environmentally friendly "rest stops", but that's just cause there's so few towns. katlaughing |
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