Whatchamacallits, or Names for the Little Things
Updated February 21, 2017 | Factmonster Staff
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
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