what's-his-namen.
colloquial.
Substituted for the name of a man or boy (loosely, of a thing) which the speaker forgets, does not know, or is unwilling to mention. whatsename (quot. 1866) represents an ambiguous form which is not uncommon. what's-their-names (quot. 1773 for what's-your-name n. at Derivatives) is very rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > naming > anonymity or lack of a name > [noun] > thing or person whose name is forgotten or unknown
swilk and swilkc1175
thinga1325
what-call-ye-him1473
who knows what?1548
I don't know (also I know not, I wot not) what1568
God (also (the) Lord) knows (also wot) what1569
washical1575
what-d'ye-call-'em1593
so-and-so1596
whiblin1604
so-fortha1616
jiggumboba1625
know-not-whata1642
thingum1652
thingum-thangum1684
what's-his-name1697
something or other1706
thingummy1737
thingamabob1751
something1764
what's-her-name1816
conundrum1817
thingamerry1819
thingamajig1824
somebody1825
what's-its-name1839
whangdoodle1852
thingummytite1865
dingus1866
what-not1876
whatsita1882
gilguy1883
gadget1886
dingbat1894
doohickey1914
oojah1917
oojah capivvy1917
oojiboo1918
doodad1920
tiddlypush1923
whosis1923
thingy1927
doodah1928
doofer1937
hootenanny1940
whatchamacallit1942
gizmo1943
frammis1948
whosit1948
whifflow1961
oobyjiver1963
whatsisface1967
oojamaflip1970
what's-her-face1980
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 12 Two Figures on the sides emboss'd appear; Conon, and what's his Name who made the Sphere.
1829 F. Marryat Naval Officer III. iv. 107 Mr. Thingamy,..you will take the what's-his-name.
1845 C. Dickens Cricket on Hearth i. 11 There was soon the very What's-his-name to pay.
1847 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) xxi. 205 ‘But seclusion and contemplation are my what's-his-name—’ ‘If you mean Paradise, Mama, you had better say so, to render yourself intelligible.’
1866 C. Reade Griffith Gaunt xv He..almost persuaded Whatsename, another heathen gentleman, to be a Christian.
1872 Earl of Pembroke & G. H. Kingsley S. Sea Bubbles i. 29 The back-sliding individual is looked upon..by the more..decent of the community as little better than one of the what's-his-names.
1943 K. Tennant Ride on Stranger x. 114 And then Bleeby..accusing me..of turning Whatsisname against him.
1979 S. Wilson Glad Hand i. i. 11 Marilyn. What is going on? Brian. Same old thing: raising the whatsis-name—the Antichrist.
Derivatives
what's-her-name n. (of a woman or girl)
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > naming > anonymity or lack of a name > [noun] > thing or person whose name is forgotten or unknown
swilk and swilkc1175
thinga1325
what-call-ye-him1473
who knows what?1548
I don't know (also I know not, I wot not) what1568
God (also (the) Lord) knows (also wot) what1569
washical1575
what-d'ye-call-'em1593
so-and-so1596
whiblin1604
so-fortha1616
jiggumboba1625
know-not-whata1642
thingum1652
thingum-thangum1684
what's-his-name1697
something or other1706
thingummy1737
thingamabob1751
something1764
what's-her-name1816
conundrum1817
thingamerry1819
thingamajig1824
somebody1825
what's-its-name1839
whangdoodle1852
thingummytite1865
dingus1866
what-not1876
whatsita1882
gilguy1883
gadget1886
dingbat1894
doohickey1914
oojah1917
oojah capivvy1917
oojiboo1918
doodad1920
tiddlypush1923
whosis1923
thingy1927
doodah1928
doofer1937
hootenanny1940
whatchamacallit1942
gizmo1943
frammis1948
whosit1948
whifflow1961
oobyjiver1963
whatsisface1967
oojamaflip1970
what's-her-face1980
1816 W. Scott Old Mortality Concl., in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. IV. 343 ‘And what became of old Mrs What's her name, the housekeeper?’ ‘Mrs Wilson, madam,’ answered I.
1880 ‘Ouida’ Moths I. i. 21 It makes one feel like What's-her-name in the ‘Trovatore’.
what's-its-name n. (of a thing)
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > naming > anonymity or lack of a name > [noun] > thing or person whose name is forgotten or unknown
swilk and swilkc1175
thinga1325
what-call-ye-him1473
who knows what?1548
I don't know (also I know not, I wot not) what1568
God (also (the) Lord) knows (also wot) what1569
washical1575
what-d'ye-call-'em1593
so-and-so1596
whiblin1604
so-fortha1616
jiggumboba1625
know-not-whata1642
thingum1652
thingum-thangum1684
what's-his-name1697
something or other1706
thingummy1737
thingamabob1751
something1764
what's-her-name1816
conundrum1817
thingamerry1819
thingamajig1824
somebody1825
what's-its-name1839
whangdoodle1852
thingummytite1865
dingus1866
what-not1876
whatsita1882
gilguy1883
gadget1886
dingbat1894
doohickey1914
oojah1917
oojah capivvy1917
oojiboo1918
doodad1920
tiddlypush1923
whosis1923
thingy1927
doodah1928
doofer1937
hootenanny1940
whatchamacallit1942
gizmo1943
frammis1948
whosit1948
whifflow1961
oobyjiver1963
whatsisface1967
oojamaflip1970
what's-her-face1980
1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby xxxi. 304 Those great folks in what's-its-name Place.
what's-your-name n. (of a person addressed).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > naming > anonymity or lack of a name > [noun] > form of address to unknown person
what's-your-name1757
stranger1817
Jack1889
Jimmy1981
1757 S. Foote Author i. 13 Look ye here, Mr. What's-your-name?
1773 G. A. Stevens Trip to Portsmouth ii. 28 The what's-their-names at uproars squall.
1942 W. Faulkner Go down, Moses & Other Stories 87 Is that so? Look here, Mister What's-your-name—.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1923; most recently modified version published online March 2019).
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n.1697- hemlock forest
- hemlock land
- hemlock lumber
- hemlock parsley
- hemlock pine
- hemlock pitch
- hemlock root
- hemlock shaw
- hemlock spruce
- hemlock spruce fir
- hemlock stork's-bill
- hemlock stork'sbill
- hemlock swamp
- hemlock tree
- hemlock water dropwort
- hemlock wood
- hemlock-cold
- hemlock-drinker
- hemlock-like
- hemlock-tanned
- hemlockcold
- hemlockdrinker
- hemlocked
- hemlocklike
- hemlocks