Whatchamacallits, or Names for the Little Things

Are you often stumped by the name of a little thing? Do you call common objects whatchamacallits? Help is on the way! There are names for those little things in life.

• Belt: tongue, punch holes, keeper
• Broom: neck (where stick is attached to broom)
• Clothespin: grinning hole, claw end
• Comb: spine, teeth
• Door: lintel, jamb, threshold
• Eyeglasses: eye wires (surround glass), budge (bridges the nose), temples (hook over the ears)
• Hair dryer: barrel, air vents
• Hat: brim, crown
• Hot dog roll: hinge
• Hot dog string: linker twine
• Nail: shank, head
• Padlock: shackle (movable arched bar)
• Pail: ears (where handle attaches to pail)
• Paper clips: legs (straight), bends (rounded)
• Safety pin: shaft
• Scissors: blades, pivot, bow handle (large), ring handle (small)
• Shoe: aglet (tip of shoelace), welt (between upper and sole), counter (back panel)
• Sock: toe, gore (back)
• Stairs: tread, riser, railing, banister, newel post
• Staple: crown, legs
• Toothbrush: block handle, block head (where bristles are inserted)
• Window: lintel, sill, panes, sash
• Zipper: pull tab, slide, teeth

Fact Monster/Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

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