Creating your own name for something

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.

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...

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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!

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

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

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.

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

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

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........