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40 Times People Failed To Remember What A Simple Thing Is Called So They Came Up With The Most Hilarious New Name
We're all familiar with this strange feeling of casually gliding through a conversation when, suddenly, our minds go blank. "Oh, what’s the name of that thing," we might say. "I'm sure it starts with an A or something..." We're talking about this tormenting sense of being on the verge of remembering a word or a name but failing to retrieve it, no matter how hard we try.
As our minds desperately wander for the right way to express ourselves and fill the temporary void, there's only one thing left to do — come up with a new one. Ideally, you would immediately think of the perfect word that captures the essence of what you were about to say. But that’s rarely the case. So Redditor the_slippery_shoe decided to learn more about these hilarious blunders and reached out to Ask Reddit with a question: "What's the funniest name you've heard someone call an object when they couldn't remember its actual name?"
From "Carpet Banjo" to "moo beasts" and "disco chickens", the things people came up with might be officially absorbed into our vocabularies. We at Bored Panda gathered some of the funniest responses from the thread, so make sure to read them right below. Upvote the ones that made you chuckle and share your own mishaps with us in the comments!
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#1
Boyfriend's mother once referred to a peacock as a disco chicken.
RELATED:
#2
Couldn't remember groomsmen, went with dudesmaids instead.
We are certain we know the word we are looking for. The missing term is just within arm’s reach, but for some reason, we find it impossible to recall. We end up feeling frustrated, unsure of our abilities and surprised by how these failures can occur even with the most common words we use. Interestingly, this experience has a scientific term — the tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) phenomenon. As you can guess, it derives from the phrase "it's on the tip of my tongue" and psychologists define it as a feeling that accompanies the momentary inability to retrieve information from memory.
William James was the first psychologist to describe the TOT phenomenon, though he did not label it as such. "The state of our consciousness is peculiar. There is a gap therein; but no mere gap. It is a gap that is intensely active. A sort of wraith of the name is in it, beckoning us in a given direction, making us at moments tingle with the sense of our closeness and then letting us sink back without the longed-for term," he explained in Principles of Psychology in 1890.
#3
My ex called an animal shelter a 'cat refugee camp', I couldn't f*****g breathe
#5
My friend couldn't remember the word "cow" for some reason, so she googled "moo beast" to remember.
censorshipsucks 3 years ago
I love funny animal names, like fart squirrel, trash panda, danger noodle, etc
To learn more about this experience and how widespread it is, we reached out to John Richard Hanley, emeritus professor of neuropsychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Essex, who studies the tip-of-the-tongue states. Studies have revealed that everyone experiences the inability to retrieve words and information from their memories, and it occurs frequently in everyday life. "As far as we know, the TOT phenomenon is universal," the professor told Bored Panda. "Most languages contain a specific term for a TOT. Moreover, TOTs have been shown to occur even in speakers of a language that does not have a dedicated expression for TOTs."
#6
To this day most of my family refers to a strainer/colander as a "noodle stay, water go" because my older brother called it that once when he couldn't find it and needed to ask where it was.
#7
Back in 90s I was 14 and begging my mom to let me go to a Guns n Roses concert..
I kept nagging until she got frustrated but couldnt remember the band name and said:
"I'M NOT LETTING YOU GO TO ANY DAMN DEATH AND FLOWERS CONCERT"
I couldnt stop laughing
Jann Houley 3 years ago
I once went to a conference (in Australia) with my elderly boss who was friends with the hotel manager, told me there was a practice ‘jig’ (gig) in the basement with a famous band called ‘Rifles and Petals, I think’. Nearly skipped it… first person I saw was Slash!!!
#8
I know a german who learned english in wales, its the most amazing cluster f**k of accents.
Anyway, a dog ran off with his gloves and he chased after it shouting, 'come back with my hand shoes!'
This phenomenon might be global, but there seems to be no universally accepted cause for using the wrong words or misspeaking from time to time. However, there are scientific theories that try to explain it. "Some researchers claim that the TOT experience exists in order to tell you that you know the elusive name and that you might be able to retrieve it if you spend more time attempting recall," Hanley said.
"TOT states can occur for common names and for all types of proper names," the professor added. "However, they are particularly frequent for names of people. Long names are more prone to TOTs than short names."
#9
A polish exchange student was thirsty after a nightout and didn't know what to say. He pointed to his mouth and said Sahara.
AnnaBanananna 3 years ago (edited)
Where is the “battle unicorn” for rhino? It’s not on the list
#10
Couple weeks ago I was getting a pack of darts, needed some change for parking meters. As the girl is getting my change out I was panicked, what is it called? My mind blank all I could get out of my dumb maw was "can I have my change in metal money?". In my 30s and the word coin apparently got replaced by some dumb s**t I likely read here
#11
Christmas Llama instead of reindeer.
We were curious to learn what happens to people when they experience these cognitive issues. Hanley explained that when in a TOT state, "we can recall detailed biographical information about the person; it is only the name that is elusive." Moreover, "we generally even know whether the elusive name contains 2 words (e.g. Gwyneth Paltrow) or 3 words (e.g. Jamie Lee Curtis)."
It’s hard to deny that experiencing a TOT moment can be extremely annoying. After all, it’s not that you can’t remember the concept of that word but that you can’t find a way to express it. When something does trigger your memory and you finally find the language label you were looking for, you feel a wave of relief sweep over your frustration. "One researcher made the point that a TOT can be as intense as a feeling that you are about to sneeze, so I assume that this is true," the professor said.
#12
My boyfriend thought it was clever when I asked what the right word was for "an angry parade". ....a protest.
#13
Once when my husband was on pain meds (after having surgery), he asked for a "cylindrical water storage device." Cup. He wanted a cup.
#14
I can't remember who said it, but ever since I heard a person call a cupcake a party muffin they are permanently renamed in my mind.
Moreover, it seems that this phenomenon becomes more frequent with age. Word-finding problems are nearly a stereotypical element of the cognitive issues that trouble older adults. "We do indeed experience more TOTs in old age, and this is particularly true for the names of familiar people," the professor added. Diary studies have found that TOTs occur about once a week for younger adults and increase to about once a day for older adults. Also, researchers consider that this is caused by older adults showing retrieval failure of known words, and needing more "search" time to find the awol word.
#15
At Target, I asked for "a can of bug-murder". I forgot "insecticide" or even "bug spray". The dude took it in stride, didn't flinch.
Brian Meyer 3 years ago
Hat's of to the Target guy. "Oh! What's it called again? A can of bug murder?" "Yup. You nailed it. That'll be $7.32."
#16
I once had to listen to my mother tell a 10 minute story about all the honkers she saw at the park.
Geese. She meant geese.
#17
My mom referred to Guitar Hero as "Carpet Banjo" one time. Me and my friends still call it that.
But it turns out that getting some exercise and leading a healthy life could protect us against language decline in old age. Katrien Segaert, lecturer in the School of Psychology at the University of Birmingham found in her latest study that fitter people are less likely to experience TOT moments than those who lack fitness. "We found that the higher the older person’s aerobic fitness level was, the lower their odds of experiencing a tip-of-the-tongue moment," she wrote. "A person’s age and the number of words a person knows also determine the frequency of experiencing tip-of-the-tongue moments. What is important is that the relationship between the frequency of tip-of-the-tongue moments and aerobic fitness levels exists over and above the influence of a person’s age and vocabulary size."
#18
Couldn't remember the word Athlete so I went with Sportician.
#19
"Long sleeved shorts" I forgot the word for pants.
#20
My buddy once referred to an air horn as 'spray scream'.
#21
Growing up, we had a piece of furniture that we didn't know what to call. Was it a bureau? A dresser?
We agreed to call it "Uncle Fred." We forget that's weird until we have company.
Firstname Lastname 3 years ago
"Hey honey, can you go get me a pair of my underwear from Uncle Fred?"
#22
When my sister was young, she didn't know the word "cemetary" so she just called it a "dead-people field".
#23
At one point I started googling "map of the year" because my brain short-circuited and I couldn't recall the word "calendar".
#25
At a house party when this trashed bro comes up to me:
Hey man, I'm about to score. You got one of those . . . uh . . . plastic penis . . . socks?
#26
I couldn't remember "oven mitt" so I called it "heat gauntlet." I really like the word gauntlet.
SheamusFan1987 3 years ago
Heat Gauntlet: Makes a killer casserole and deflects a longsword blow all in one XP
#28
Yesterday, I forgot what the shade is, and it was really hot outside so I told my friend "lets chill at the dark place"
#30
I once referred to a flyswatter as a "bug spatula" when the name escaped me .
#32
This came to my mind when I read a post on Reddit where a girl called a feather a "bird leaf".
#33
I couldn’t think of the word “robe” so I asked a friend if they’d seen my “towel jacket.”
#34
I can't remember the word "lid" half the time. So during work I sometimes run to the back in search of "drink hats". I get weird looks a lot...
#35
I once called toothpase "tooth soap" because it was 8 am and I was not ready for life.
Seán Baron 3 years ago
No one is ready for life at that u godly hour. And those who say they are are either lying or psychopaths.
#36
My girlfriend was frustrated because she couldn't find her shoehorn, and then said loudly "WHERE IS THE BOOT SPOON".
#37
I was playing pictionary with some friends, and the prompt was skunk, so I did my best to draw a skunk. My friend yelled "STINKY CAT"
#38
I met this french girl on a recent trip, and she called it a "muscle hangover", when looking for the word sore.
#39
Toilet paper = s**t tickets
#40
My mum always says wanky candles instead of Yankee candles. She's always horrified when she does it.
When grappling with moments of forgotten words, some strategies and insights can help ease the frustration.
For a deeper understanding of the underlying mental blocks during such "tip-of-the-tongue" experiences, you might find it useful to explore some psychological explanations and examples in how the mind occasionally blanks on basic vocabulary.
#41
I've got a little cousin who's quietly a genius at this. When she was three and just learning the names of different body parts, she got a cut on her ankle playing outside and was trying to tell me. Only she couldn't remember the name for ankle -- so it became her "foot wrist". The exact reverse happened a few weeks later, when she couldn't remember the name for her elbow, so she called it her "arm's knee". By far my favorite example, though, is when she couldn't remember the word "remember". She told me a knock-knock joke, and then when I asked her where she got it, she stared at me blankly for a second and said, "...I found it in my head." "You made it up?" I asked her. "No...I heard it somewhere, and put it in my head, and then I went in there and found it again." It's absolutely fantastic. She's six now, and as she learns more words it's starting to happen less and less, but every once in a while she'll whip out a gem. She's probably created more running jokes in our family in her six years than I have in my two decades.
T. D. Bostick 3 years ago
This is one of the best things about toddlers - the crazy things they say.
#42
I once called the Navy "the aqua army".
#43
Years ago my boyfriend and I were super baked and he was just like "okay so I know this probably isn't the right word, but can you hand me the volume squirter" he meant tv remote, but the new name stuck. Since then we've always referred to it as a volume squirter.
#44
My unmedicated ADHD (while preggo) caused my mouth to outpace my vocabulary quite often.
I wish I could remember more of them, but my husband won't let me live down "time circle." I meant clock.
#45
Called a labcoat a Science Vest.
#46
My little brother who was around 6 at the time really wanted popcorn, and he asked if he could have some of the "boom puffs."
#47
I've had a mild stroke so sometimes it's hard to think of the right word. My favorite one is "water rope" for garden hose.
SheamusFan1987 3 years ago
Sorry about your stroke, hope you are and will continue to do well. But I like the term 'water rope'. Perhaps in time we could just call it 'water lasso' instead because the hose is coiled?
#48
Hush puppies were once called "shut up dogs" by my cousin when she couldn't think of the name.
#49
Called a fan the air blender.
#50
I work as a gunsmith...I forgot what calipers were called one day...they are now forever known as "measurydoos"
#51
I once worked with a German guy who asked me what the English word for 'a snail without a house on his back'. Took me a while to work out he meant a slug. German for slug translates to naked snail.
#52
Stuck in traffic. SO called to ask how it was. I said it was a*s to mouth over here. I couldn’t remember the phrase “bumper to bumper”.
#53
The other week I completely forgot the word "aquarium". My best guess was "fish zoo".
#54
I work with a Spaniard who was NOT familiar with some or local fauna. OK if you're in the city -- bad if you are living at a children's camp. Someone dropped a toad down his back. Once he extracted himself from the visitor, he asked: "What do you call this thing? This jumping pile of s**t!"
#55
When my girlfriend was stoned she asked "how do I turn on the umbrella sticks" when talking about windshield wipers
Brian Meyer 3 years ago
Um. If she's stoned (especially THAT stoned), she shouldn't have been in a position to need to turn on the "umbrella sticks." I don't judge people who enjoy recreational drugs, but PLEASE don't drive stoned.
#56
I recently struggled to think of the word ‘Oval’, so instead landed on “the circle rectangle”.
#57
My friend once called his shoulder a 'high elbow'...
#58
A friend of mine once said "plane station" instead of airport
#59
I mixed up Hamburger Helper and ended up calling it Beef Aid.
#60
My dad can't pronounce aluminum, but he tries. One time, he was asking for the "aluminum foil" because he was cooking, got sick of stuttering over the pronunciation, and just went with, "Kiddo, can you hand me the shiny paper?"
#61
My friend couldn't remember the word "cauldron" one Halloween and referred to it as a "witch bucket."
#62
My dad let me watch him work on things in the garage when I was little. He thought it was hilarious that I called sparks "fire crumbs" When my brother was little, we were watching some medical show, and he forgot the term for eye sockets. Instead, he called them "eye ditches".
#63
We were planning to go watch fireworks while the sun was going down, but I couldn't for the life of me think what the word was, so I ended up going with "Last call for the Sun" as me and my friends have all worked in clubs and bars, still can't live that down.
#64
I once called a Ferris wheel a "vertical carousel" because I forgot the name.
#65
I was trying to say microscope, but I accidentally called it a reverse telescope..
Drew Losure-McDermott 3 years ago
Since that's how they actually function, I think this is clever.
#66
Didn't know what to call people from Japan as a kid so I decided on "Japanicans".
Random Panda 3 years ago (edited)
Now you match the girl from the other post calling anime "japanimations"
#67
My girlfriend worked at the goodwill and someone had donated a trumpet. But none of her coworkers knew what it was called and she told them it was a trumpet. But for some reason they didn't believe her.
Despite her best efforts, they eventually labeled it "Brass thing" and sold it that way.
#68
Dizzy daisy instead of lazy Susan.
#69
My boyfriend came across a wand on my desk the first time he visited my house. He kinda looked at it, held it up, and goes "did you make this....this *wizarding stick*?" My mom, who was also present, still hadn't let him live it down three years later.
#71
My best flub was when I couldn't remember the word for water, so I called it drinking fluid.
#72
My ex and I were hanging out one day trying to figure out what we wanted to do. I suggested maybe a walk in the park, a trip to the zoo, etc. when all of a sudden his face lit up and he gleefully asked "WHAT ABOUT THE AQUA MUSEUM?!" It took me a good few seconds to realize he meant the "aquarium".
#73
My sister was telling me about how shitty periods are and she wanted to tell me that I would understand when I got a *daughter* but instead she said "youll get it when you get a girlchild".
#74
I forgot what the letter G was called the other day so i referred to it as the 'round K'. No, I don't know where I was going with that either.
#75
Couldn't remember "camouflage," so I said "Army pattern" instead. Felt like an idiot when my friends corrected me.
Drew Losure-McDermott 3 years ago
yanno... the thing is, if you're referring to a specific pattern, army pattern might have been a more accurate term since camouflage can refer to so much more than a printed pattern. "Army Pattern" at least gets you a smaller niche of options, since camouflage can refer to so much. I suppose context is important in this situation though.
#76
I was out drinking with a Dutch friend of mine. He forgot the word for sidewalk and called it a pedestrian road.
#77
"what is it Jewish people wear on their heads.... Hmm ... Oh, Yamahas" Bob at work last week. He also streams neckflick for movies and TV shows. Bob just turned 60
Amy Taylor 3 years ago
My friend's dad has a bunch of them.. Michelob tires, Mucho Milk for Mocha Mix...lol
SheamusFan1987 3 years ago (edited)
I think he meant yarmulke aka Jewish skullcap. Just looked it up, same headgear different names.
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#78
Buddy once called a guitar a "funky lookin' violin" and a raven a "huge a*s crow"
#79
Someone from my local subreddit asked her doctor for "anti-baby".
#80
Look-in-your-ear thing. Listen-to-your-heart thing. Arm-hugging-blood-pressure-pump thing. Things you might find in a doctor's office.
#81
When I was learning French, I couldn't remember the word for "toes", so I called them "the fingers of the foot."
Edit: the French word is "orteil"
#82
I once forgot the word for "letters" and asked my coworker how many alphabet numbers a word had.
censorshipsucks 3 years ago
I've often heard people refer to letters as "alphabets", especially if they are not first-language English
#83
My wife once referred to a portrait as "Frank Funyion" because she couldn't remember the name "Paul Bunyan" Frank Funyion is now forever immortalized in our household in a painting.
#84
Once had a friend who called an ambulance a hospital van.
#86
I have a few words that I've done this with. My girlfriends favorite is when I called the humidifier the air waterer.
#87
Guy I worked with referred to Planned Parenthood as "Planet Parent Hollywood" in all ernesty.
#88
My boyfriend does this all the time. My favourite ever was "oil boiled" for deep fried but others have included "letter house" (envelope), "potato claws" (kitchen tongs) and "bread cooker" (toaster).
#89
Someone once referred to an apostrophe as a "high comma." Still makes me giggle.
#91
Couldnt rember knuckle, so i called them finger elbows
#93
My mum who speaks English and couple of Chinese dialects equally well has these: Animal touch farm = petting zoo Car immobiliser stick = steering lock
#94
English is my boyfriend's second language and while he's fluent, he sometimes directly translates from his native language into English when he can't remember the specific word for something. The latest one is "water cooker" when really he means "kettle". I've stopped correcting him because I think it's great.
#95
My friend called the bleachers "baseball stairs". He's never living that down.
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
Why are they called bleechers? In Australia we call them stands (even though you sit lol)
#96
English is my boyfriend's second language, frequently he directly translates words if he doesn't know the English version and it usually gets him by. My favorite was when he inquired about the "Wine Berries".
#97
Friend is Norwegian. She couldn't remember the English word for "monkey." Apparently the direct translation of monkey in Norwegian is "ape-cat." We were watching Harry Potter the other day. Dumbledore is "Bumbletwist." Another favorite is "Grass Dude," or pineapple.
Leif Tore Markman 3 years ago
Actually "Grass Dude" is pumpkin. Pineapple in Norwegian is ananas.
#98
I couldn't remember my wifes sisters name or spit out the word "sister" so I just referred to her as "That girl you're related to that's younger than you".
#99
My mother needed to clean a tile floor. She wondered if there was some contraption, like a "pole with bristle sticks on the end." We showed her a broom.
GoddessOdd 3 years ago
she could have also meant a scrub brush. I have a scrub brush on a long handle that my niece called a scrubby stick.
#100
During chemistry, a friend of mine asked me to pass him the 'temperature rod'. He wasn't trying to crack a joke so we all stared at him confusingly. Turns out, he was referring to the thermometer
#102
When my son was around 3 he made up all sorts of names. Some of my favorites were: Swim dog = Sea Lion Swim Pig = hippopotamus Ice Cream Cheerios = Fruit Loops Halloween Dog = Frankenweenie
#103
My boyfriend's mum once called a triangle a 'squared off diamond'
#104
My mate once referred to stairs as "the walk-down"
#105
Once had someone order a drink from me, but they struggled when I asked if they needed a garnish. They settled for "green lemon", they were thinking of lime. Edit: I guess lime is literally translated as green lemon in many languages, so that’s neat.
#106
My dad accidentally called Chipotle Chipoodle once. He got very angry when my brother and I wouldn’t stop laughing at him.
BAWK BAWK BAKAW 3 years ago
idk if there's any star trek voyager fans here, but my dad called Chakotay "Commander Chipotle" once
#107
"Coldness quarantine" when I forgot the name for a cooler. I hadn't even had any of the alcohol that was in the cooler, my brain just decided to stop working for a second...
What do you think ?
That'sEndorable 3 years ago (edited)
I have a touch of aphasia. Usually harmless, but I didn't realize until I went to a neurologist that my rhythm of speech betrays how often I have to search for words. My ADD medicine helps, and BEFORE I was diagnosed, I think people were too nice to laugh, but sometimes my word-grab fails would crack ME up at least. (McChicken = Bird Burger.) Often they seemed comically pretentious, because they were just random words that I came up short for; it's not like I had a poor vocabulary (chicken nuggets = chicken medallions). They weren't always catchy (shoe = work sneaker), but once in a while, I'd get frustrated and come up with something outrageous (cat = house weasel, fudge = poop candy). "Thingy" still is a common word. (spatula = flippy thingy).
That'sEndorable 3 years ago
I just remembered this one (thanks to another post). Ignorance, not really aphasia, but when I was staying in the Deep South long enough to enroll in school as a kid, and first exposed to Southern-fried steak, I called it "beef schnitzel." I'm actually pretty sure I'm right.
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Sheena Morrison 3 years ago
My sister couldn't remember Benedict Cumberbatch's name. He is forever now known as Jason Cummerbund.
Marta Gaj 3 years ago
still better than „this Cucumber guy” as my MIL call poor Benedict :p
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DuchessDegu 3 years ago
My mum is a specialist on alternative names! Beach deodorant (sun cream), timothy (thermometer), button stick (any remote), tree fox (squirrel)
CairaRose79 3 years ago
Once when I was closing at a fast food place one of my co-workers came over and asked what I still had to do. I couldn't remember the word so I said "I still need to use the wet broom." The look of horror that came over everyone's faces as they realized they also didn't remember the word was priceless. The shift lead came out of the office from putting the tills away for the night and was thoroughly unimpressed that none of us could remember the word "Mop".
Seanette Blaylock 3 years ago
Yours works quite well to describe it, I think.
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mama loves pugs 3 years ago
This is so frustrating. I can't access half of these articles because they won't open up. I've cleared my cache. What else can I do apart from deleting the app?
Vicky Zar 3 years ago
Use the browser version. It works better than the app in so many ways. You can edit your comments and when you click on a notification you got, it will lead you straight to the comment it was for instead of having to search for it.
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Andrea Purzycki 3 years ago
I love Sour Patch Kids. I couldn't remember the name once and called them Spicy Children instead. Now I always call them Spicy Children. I think that I am hilarious. My husband does not.
Christine 3 years ago
Your husband is grossly misinformed. I like that so much I just might use it in the future! (If I can remember to remember, that is... and that's a *big* if)
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Peppermallow 3 years ago
i still get harassed for ‘stem things’ when i blanked on the word flower in my youth
Chenga Animates 3 years ago
reminds me of the time I forgot the word for router and called it a "reactor," "receptor," and "realtor" before finally giving up and asking for the word for "the thing that produces wi-fi"
River Hambleton 3 years ago
I once called an ambulance a “Hurt People Bus” and later that day I called a rocket an astronaut tube
Tamra Stiffler 3 years ago (edited)
Peckers. My mom had the unfortunate habit of calling bird's beaks, peckers. Usually in public. "Look at that bird's p****r!"
Upstaged75 3 years ago
In high school a friend of mine had a huge truck/SUV that had one of those cow catcher things on the front. (See pic if you don't know what I'm talking about). We were driving in said vehicle one time and another friend forgot what it was called so she referred to it as the Ranch Mangler. LOL! That became the truck's name from then on. car-628e63...698a8a.jpg 
MelonCloud 3 years ago
That is what a polar bear is called in my native language!
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Vladimir I 3 years ago
For some reason all this reminded me of kennings in old nordic poetry. Some those names were quite poetic.
GaeFrog 3 years ago
I couldn't think of the word hot so i called my fajita temperature spicy the other day..
Amy Walgren 3 years ago
My daughter was in the theatre program, which is not me at all. I couldn’t think of the word intermission so I called it halftime.
Axolotl King 3 years ago
I once couldn't remember Pirate so I said "Sea Scoundrel, Steal Your Gold"
ZombieGirl 3 years ago
I've been having memory issues the last year or so, and some of the things I've said are "the stuff that would kill me if I drank it" (rubbing alcohol) "That stuff that tickles" (peroxide) "vampire repellant" (garlic) "the fast stick cleaner" (swift duster)....those are just the ones I remember at the moment
Ross Warren 3 years ago
My daughter used to call vanilla pudding "ice cream jelly" when she was younger.
IguanaCircusGirl2000 3 years ago
My sister and I hatched and raised an emu. One day a lady walked by with her child and asked her mom what that was. The mom without missing a beat said, "Oh that's one of them zebra ducks!" and history was made......
Allie Rocheleau 3 years ago
My husband once forgot the word "supreme" for pizza and called it "ultimate." I like it so much better.
Lsai Aeon 3 years ago
I do this all the time. I have chronic severe arthritis and fibromyalgia. Both cause brain fog. I forget words constantly and am always coming up with new words or phrases. It gets a little crazy in my house when this happens, especially when my son is trying to guess what I'm saying since he's on the autism spectrum and ADHD. Good times
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
Fibro fog is the worst! Especially if you are trying to sound competent at work lol.
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JB 3 years ago
I wasn’t exposed to IT terms for computers until I went to university, because desktops didn’t exist (nevermind laptops, nor mobile phones, nor…but I digress). We had access to a limited few word processors or the campus mainframe via terminal (dot printers anyone?), so I didn’t acquire much terminology before hitting the ‘real’ world at 24. My first job, I was told to “speak to IT to get your desk and computer set up”. I duly asked the tech if I could please have a “computer, stringy bits for power and information and a pointing clicky thing.”
Izzy Curer 3 years ago
One time, my mom texted me something about the Dollar Tree. Only, she used voice-to-text, and instead of the words 'Dollar Tree', the phone heard 'Tiki Forest'. Which is kind of perfect, so that's what we call it, now.
Stephanie Paich 3 years ago
I once heard a comedian say that an alligator is basically just a floor dinosaur and now I can't call them anything else.
Nikki Bastian 3 years ago
My four year old was at the county fair for the first time and pulled us to one of the animal pens, shouting about the "Gobble Chickens" in the turkey pen. She's ten now, and we still ask if she wants Gobble Chicken sammiches for lunch. Cutest thing ever.
Mam cymraeg 3 years ago
This is where I shine my best ones - swirly whirly -electric whisk and the bubbly aka the washing machine also just generally calling people by wrong names and once kept taking to my daughter about her birthday and what date in November to do her party - her birthday is in June
IlovemydogShilo 3 years ago
My dad used to call the static on the old TV screens "Bionic Ants" because the black dots looked like ants jumping around the screen. Also when I was a baby because I couldn't say windshield wipers I used to call them "Clean Lines".
Abigail Dayan 3 years ago
Yesterday I didn't know how to say a broom in German so I said "witches car'
meow point1 3 years ago
Once, I forgot what a beaker was called, so I called it a "science cup".
Kind Pegasus 95 3 years ago
Once I was stoned and I couldn’t remember what My Little Pony was called, so I called it Fabulous Horse show lmao 😂
Procrastinating Panda 3 years ago
Best one I ever hear was calling the Mysterious Benedict Society the Benedict Cumberbatch Society.
WoodenLion 3 years ago
"turdays" = cherries. been like that since my 44 year old daughter called them when she was little. [ didn't know what she wanted for a few days ]
Katie Lutesinger 3 years ago
When my sister was a kid our Dad had program files open on his computer. She didn't know what it was called so she referred to it as "the big listy thing". From then on, every time he got a new computer Dad would name the program files shortcut "big listy thing", and when I got my first personal computer I did the same! She also called the electric frypan "the cooky thing", and something else got the name "the hooky thing", though I can't remember what that one was.
Belladonna.dreams 2 years ago
I call everything thingy and Whatchya ma call it because my brain always fails vocab when i need it most
GadgetGirl 3 years ago
My 23 year old recently: "Oh, I forgot to put my pillow sheet in the wash!" Pillowcase. And also, "I'd like to find clothes with the right length leg sleeves." Pants and Pant Legs.
Krystal Keener 3 years ago
Last year I was working with my bank to get a loan, and I would say I have an above average vocabulary in my everyday life. And then end of the meeting, I wanted to get the phone number direct to the woman I was working with and my mind glitched and I look at her in this horror/confusion mixture and asked for her "call digits". We both just stared at each other across the desk for a minute before laughing til we were crying.
Samia Guled 3 years ago
when I was 9, me and my family was playing the letter game, where you have to find word that starts with a specific letter. when we were on k, I was trying to think of a word, and I said kite boat (kayak), but technically it did work
Liz-ard 3 years ago
My memory have changed from memory like an elephant to memory of a goldfish after some life traumas. I’m now 57. I hate that I now can’t have a normal conversation! But the conversations with my way older brother who is 72 often gets hilarious! We both usually laugh. Some days later, but often nights, the word pops up again, I shout it out and I must stop myself not calling the person who I dropped the word with.
Elizabeth Butler 3 years ago
I used to think there was something wrong with me when that little dark void in my brain would float onto the word or name I was looking for. I was thrilled to discover that little dark void has an actual name -- lethologica, literally "death of word"
Amanda Penton 3 years ago
When my daughter was 5, she had just started speaking. She had a stroke at 3 months during bypass with her second open heart surgery, born with only half of a heart and is Autistic. She would commonly come up with one word or sounds to mimic what she wanted. My favorite was her telling me pat-pat. Pointed to the TV and said pat-pat. For hours we were naming everything we could think of, movies, toys, anything. I start flipping through the channels and wouldn't you know 'Little Einsteins' is on. She gets so happy yelling pat-pat pat-pat. They pat there legs to make rocker go and fly! Lmao I couldn't stop smiling and laughing. It is still so frickin adorable. There have been quite a few but that one will stick we me forever. She is 11 now and she still calls it that.
That nerd Zoe ️🇺🇦️ 3 years ago
One time I forgot what a paintball gun was called, so I called it a boba paint gun ;-;
OLIVI YAY (she/her) 3 years ago
I once was tryng to say meat stick and beef stick and i ended up with meef stick. Another time, i was making a presenstation and i wanted music to be in the background, so i searched up silent music...
Rhian Williams 3 years ago
The first time my oldest daughter saw a magpie she ran after it shouting "Funny Penguin!"
Unnamed Hooman 3 years ago
I tried to find the word contortionist once, and I said “extortionist but stretchy”
Selina Lawrence 3 years ago
I was once in a supermarket with a friend, hadn’t been sleeping well and at that point almost beyond exhaustion, couldn’t remember the words room temperature and my brain helpfully supplied me with ‘shelf volume’ a fact that my friend likes to periodically remind me of - cheers brain!
Jai Stewart 3 years ago
Playing snap with my young son, and I couldn't remember the word for snap- so my brain made me shout woof. Their was a dog on the cards on my defence 😂
memyselfandI 3 years ago
When I was a kid, I called York peppermint patties Yonks because the cursive r looked like an n, so they’re officially Yonks now.
Emmett O'Brian 3 years ago
When I was a kid, me, my brother and my uncle all made up words. Mine was chaudywogbaga meaning wet wood. Wet wood is actually shorter, but my word lives on. It's taken on a life of its own. It can also refer to something that was once useful but is now ruined.
RandomFrog 3 years ago
I would like to add my own: Wedding-marriage ceremony and Rodeo- horse party
T. D. Bostick 3 years ago
Toddler's (and apparently Germans) are an endless source of funny word replacements. I have both (my kids are growing up in Germany), and they've said some pretty ridiculous stuff, for example -babies for -berries (e.g. strawbabies, cranbabies, etc.), 'Puppel' for 'Hummel' (German word for bumblebee), 'A suitor' for 'computer', 'kepchup' for 'ketchup', etc.
Rose the Cook 3 years ago
My father used to get furious with us kids for coming up with strange names for things like this. Mum always knew what we meant and occasionally used the terms herself accidentally asking him to get some misnamed item from the shop. Unfortunately my father had no sense of humor.
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
So guilty of this! I get stuck in my native English and use wjhatever words work, even if from another language, LOL.
Gerdien 3 years ago
Why oh why doesn't this article open on my Android phone while it does open on an iphone?
That'sEndorable 3 years ago (edited)
I have a touch of aphasia. Usually harmless, but I didn't realize until I went to a neurologist that my rhythm of speech betrays how often I have to search for words. My ADD medicine helps, and BEFORE I was diagnosed, I think people were too nice to laugh, but sometimes my word-grab fails would crack ME up at least. (McChicken = Bird Burger.) Often they seemed comically pretentious, because they were just random words that I came up short for; it's not like I had a poor vocabulary (chicken nuggets = chicken medallions). They weren't always catchy (shoe = work sneaker), but once in a while, I'd get frustrated and come up with something outrageous (cat = house weasel, fudge = poop candy). "Thingy" still is a common word. (spatula = flippy thingy).
That'sEndorable 3 years ago
I just remembered this one (thanks to another post). Ignorance, not really aphasia, but when I was staying in the Deep South long enough to enroll in school as a kid, and first exposed to Southern-fried steak, I called it "beef schnitzel." I'm actually pretty sure I'm right.
Load More Replies... Sheena Morrison 3 years ago
My sister couldn't remember Benedict Cumberbatch's name. He is forever now known as Jason Cummerbund.
Marta Gaj 3 years ago
still better than „this Cucumber guy” as my MIL call poor Benedict :p
Load More Replies... DuchessDegu 3 years ago
My mum is a specialist on alternative names! Beach deodorant (sun cream), timothy (thermometer), button stick (any remote), tree fox (squirrel)
CairaRose79 3 years ago
Once when I was closing at a fast food place one of my co-workers came over and asked what I still had to do. I couldn't remember the word so I said "I still need to use the wet broom." The look of horror that came over everyone's faces as they realized they also didn't remember the word was priceless. The shift lead came out of the office from putting the tills away for the night and was thoroughly unimpressed that none of us could remember the word "Mop".
Seanette Blaylock 3 years ago
Yours works quite well to describe it, I think.
Load More Replies... mama loves pugs 3 years ago
This is so frustrating. I can't access half of these articles because they won't open up. I've cleared my cache. What else can I do apart from deleting the app?
Vicky Zar 3 years ago
Use the browser version. It works better than the app in so many ways. You can edit your comments and when you click on a notification you got, it will lead you straight to the comment it was for instead of having to search for it.
Load More Replies... Andrea Purzycki 3 years ago
I love Sour Patch Kids. I couldn't remember the name once and called them Spicy Children instead. Now I always call them Spicy Children. I think that I am hilarious. My husband does not.
Christine 3 years ago
Your husband is grossly misinformed. I like that so much I just might use it in the future! (If I can remember to remember, that is... and that's a *big* if)
Load More Replies... Peppermallow 3 years ago
i still get harassed for ‘stem things’ when i blanked on the word flower in my youth
Chenga Animates 3 years ago
reminds me of the time I forgot the word for router and called it a "reactor," "receptor," and "realtor" before finally giving up and asking for the word for "the thing that produces wi-fi"
River Hambleton 3 years ago
I once called an ambulance a “Hurt People Bus” and later that day I called a rocket an astronaut tube
Tamra Stiffler 3 years ago (edited)
Peckers. My mom had the unfortunate habit of calling bird's beaks, peckers. Usually in public. "Look at that bird's p****r!"
Upstaged75 3 years ago
In high school a friend of mine had a huge truck/SUV that had one of those cow catcher things on the front. (See pic if you don't know what I'm talking about). We were driving in said vehicle one time and another friend forgot what it was called so she referred to it as the Ranch Mangler. LOL! That became the truck's name from then on. car-628e63...698a8a.jpg
MelonCloud 3 years ago
That is what a polar bear is called in my native language!
Load More Replies... Vladimir I 3 years ago
For some reason all this reminded me of kennings in old nordic poetry. Some those names were quite poetic.
GaeFrog 3 years ago
I couldn't think of the word hot so i called my fajita temperature spicy the other day..
Amy Walgren 3 years ago
My daughter was in the theatre program, which is not me at all. I couldn’t think of the word intermission so I called it halftime.
Axolotl King 3 years ago
I once couldn't remember Pirate so I said "Sea Scoundrel, Steal Your Gold"
ZombieGirl 3 years ago
I've been having memory issues the last year or so, and some of the things I've said are "the stuff that would kill me if I drank it" (rubbing alcohol) "That stuff that tickles" (peroxide) "vampire repellant" (garlic) "the fast stick cleaner" (swift duster)....those are just the ones I remember at the moment
Ross Warren 3 years ago
My daughter used to call vanilla pudding "ice cream jelly" when she was younger.
IguanaCircusGirl2000 3 years ago
My sister and I hatched and raised an emu. One day a lady walked by with her child and asked her mom what that was. The mom without missing a beat said, "Oh that's one of them zebra ducks!" and history was made......
Allie Rocheleau 3 years ago
My husband once forgot the word "supreme" for pizza and called it "ultimate." I like it so much better.
Lsai Aeon 3 years ago
I do this all the time. I have chronic severe arthritis and fibromyalgia. Both cause brain fog. I forget words constantly and am always coming up with new words or phrases. It gets a little crazy in my house when this happens, especially when my son is trying to guess what I'm saying since he's on the autism spectrum and ADHD. Good times
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
Fibro fog is the worst! Especially if you are trying to sound competent at work lol.
Load More Replies... JB 3 years ago
I wasn’t exposed to IT terms for computers until I went to university, because desktops didn’t exist (nevermind laptops, nor mobile phones, nor…but I digress). We had access to a limited few word processors or the campus mainframe via terminal (dot printers anyone?), so I didn’t acquire much terminology before hitting the ‘real’ world at 24. My first job, I was told to “speak to IT to get your desk and computer set up”. I duly asked the tech if I could please have a “computer, stringy bits for power and information and a pointing clicky thing.”
Izzy Curer 3 years ago
One time, my mom texted me something about the Dollar Tree. Only, she used voice-to-text, and instead of the words 'Dollar Tree', the phone heard 'Tiki Forest'. Which is kind of perfect, so that's what we call it, now.
Stephanie Paich 3 years ago
I once heard a comedian say that an alligator is basically just a floor dinosaur and now I can't call them anything else.
Nikki Bastian 3 years ago
My four year old was at the county fair for the first time and pulled us to one of the animal pens, shouting about the "Gobble Chickens" in the turkey pen. She's ten now, and we still ask if she wants Gobble Chicken sammiches for lunch. Cutest thing ever.
Mam cymraeg 3 years ago
This is where I shine my best ones - swirly whirly -electric whisk and the bubbly aka the washing machine also just generally calling people by wrong names and once kept taking to my daughter about her birthday and what date in November to do her party - her birthday is in June
IlovemydogShilo 3 years ago
My dad used to call the static on the old TV screens "Bionic Ants" because the black dots looked like ants jumping around the screen. Also when I was a baby because I couldn't say windshield wipers I used to call them "Clean Lines".
Abigail Dayan 3 years ago
Yesterday I didn't know how to say a broom in German so I said "witches car'
meow point1 3 years ago
Once, I forgot what a beaker was called, so I called it a "science cup".
Kind Pegasus 95 3 years ago
Once I was stoned and I couldn’t remember what My Little Pony was called, so I called it Fabulous Horse show lmao 😂
Procrastinating Panda 3 years ago
Best one I ever hear was calling the Mysterious Benedict Society the Benedict Cumberbatch Society.
WoodenLion 3 years ago
"turdays" = cherries. been like that since my 44 year old daughter called them when she was little. [ didn't know what she wanted for a few days ]
Katie Lutesinger 3 years ago
When my sister was a kid our Dad had program files open on his computer. She didn't know what it was called so she referred to it as "the big listy thing". From then on, every time he got a new computer Dad would name the program files shortcut "big listy thing", and when I got my first personal computer I did the same! She also called the electric frypan "the cooky thing", and something else got the name "the hooky thing", though I can't remember what that one was.
Belladonna.dreams 2 years ago
I call everything thingy and Whatchya ma call it because my brain always fails vocab when i need it most
GadgetGirl 3 years ago
My 23 year old recently: "Oh, I forgot to put my pillow sheet in the wash!" Pillowcase. And also, "I'd like to find clothes with the right length leg sleeves." Pants and Pant Legs.
Krystal Keener 3 years ago
Last year I was working with my bank to get a loan, and I would say I have an above average vocabulary in my everyday life. And then end of the meeting, I wanted to get the phone number direct to the woman I was working with and my mind glitched and I look at her in this horror/confusion mixture and asked for her "call digits". We both just stared at each other across the desk for a minute before laughing til we were crying.
Samia Guled 3 years ago
when I was 9, me and my family was playing the letter game, where you have to find word that starts with a specific letter. when we were on k, I was trying to think of a word, and I said kite boat (kayak), but technically it did work
Liz-ard 3 years ago
My memory have changed from memory like an elephant to memory of a goldfish after some life traumas. I’m now 57. I hate that I now can’t have a normal conversation! But the conversations with my way older brother who is 72 often gets hilarious! We both usually laugh. Some days later, but often nights, the word pops up again, I shout it out and I must stop myself not calling the person who I dropped the word with.
Elizabeth Butler 3 years ago
I used to think there was something wrong with me when that little dark void in my brain would float onto the word or name I was looking for. I was thrilled to discover that little dark void has an actual name -- lethologica, literally "death of word"
Amanda Penton 3 years ago
When my daughter was 5, she had just started speaking. She had a stroke at 3 months during bypass with her second open heart surgery, born with only half of a heart and is Autistic. She would commonly come up with one word or sounds to mimic what she wanted. My favorite was her telling me pat-pat. Pointed to the TV and said pat-pat. For hours we were naming everything we could think of, movies, toys, anything. I start flipping through the channels and wouldn't you know 'Little Einsteins' is on. She gets so happy yelling pat-pat pat-pat. They pat there legs to make rocker go and fly! Lmao I couldn't stop smiling and laughing. It is still so frickin adorable. There have been quite a few but that one will stick we me forever. She is 11 now and she still calls it that.
That nerd Zoe ️🇺🇦️ 3 years ago
One time I forgot what a paintball gun was called, so I called it a boba paint gun ;-;
OLIVI YAY (she/her) 3 years ago
I once was tryng to say meat stick and beef stick and i ended up with meef stick. Another time, i was making a presenstation and i wanted music to be in the background, so i searched up silent music...
Rhian Williams 3 years ago
The first time my oldest daughter saw a magpie she ran after it shouting "Funny Penguin!"
Unnamed Hooman 3 years ago
I tried to find the word contortionist once, and I said “extortionist but stretchy”
Selina Lawrence 3 years ago
I was once in a supermarket with a friend, hadn’t been sleeping well and at that point almost beyond exhaustion, couldn’t remember the words room temperature and my brain helpfully supplied me with ‘shelf volume’ a fact that my friend likes to periodically remind me of - cheers brain!
Jai Stewart 3 years ago
Playing snap with my young son, and I couldn't remember the word for snap- so my brain made me shout woof. Their was a dog on the cards on my defence 😂
memyselfandI 3 years ago
When I was a kid, I called York peppermint patties Yonks because the cursive r looked like an n, so they’re officially Yonks now.
Emmett O'Brian 3 years ago
When I was a kid, me, my brother and my uncle all made up words. Mine was chaudywogbaga meaning wet wood. Wet wood is actually shorter, but my word lives on. It's taken on a life of its own. It can also refer to something that was once useful but is now ruined.
RandomFrog 3 years ago
I would like to add my own: Wedding-marriage ceremony and Rodeo- horse party
T. D. Bostick 3 years ago
Toddler's (and apparently Germans) are an endless source of funny word replacements. I have both (my kids are growing up in Germany), and they've said some pretty ridiculous stuff, for example -babies for -berries (e.g. strawbabies, cranbabies, etc.), 'Puppel' for 'Hummel' (German word for bumblebee), 'A suitor' for 'computer', 'kepchup' for 'ketchup', etc.
Rose the Cook 3 years ago
My father used to get furious with us kids for coming up with strange names for things like this. Mum always knew what we meant and occasionally used the terms herself accidentally asking him to get some misnamed item from the shop. Unfortunately my father had no sense of humor.
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
So guilty of this! I get stuck in my native English and use wjhatever words work, even if from another language, LOL.
Gerdien 3 years ago
Why oh why doesn't this article open on my Android phone while it does open on an iphone?
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