Ask Lemmy

You people are way too bright with your apt and often witty alternatives for when you forget something's actual name. Me? I just employ an entirely random sound or made up word. It drives my wife insane. "Babe, would you pass me the...fucking... spraaaal?"

My friend had brain surgery for an aneurysm, and every so often she fumbles a word as a result. One day she wanted to say the word lumberjacks, but her brain came up with logfarmers instead.

My mom sometimes uses "doomaflagidad" for basically anything. The only way I've been able to translate is by using context clues. Usually based on what we're talking about or if she's pointing or using hand gestures.

I used to work in a Mexican restaurant. I always forgot the Spanish word for oven, so I'd say "La máquina que hace calor la comida."

When I was young there was a book of words made up by people where words didn't exist. Close to what OP was saying. They were called Snigglets. I remember a few.

1. Downpause-the interruption of rain when you drive under a bridge.

2. Ignosecond- the tiny interval of time, for instance, between closing the car door and while it is in motion, remembering the key is inside.

3. PRNDL - pronounced prendle, the stock in the middle of the car it on the steering column that switches between drive modes.

And one I made up:

4. Blurble - when a liquid is being poured into a container and at some point a drop jumps out of the container and into your eye or some other inconvenient place. Also, when you are drinking and the liquid level in the container reaches that critical point where when the drink is returned to a level position causes a drop to blurble out of the cup. And finally that sound a liquid makes when it comes out of a 2 liter bottle.

Couldn't think of "croissants" as a kid, called them "curly rolls," my uncle mocked me as a true product of the south, etc...

My partner says "pizza rind" for the crust edge that she won't eat.

Swedish is awesome with compound words, say that you forget the Swedish word for "computer", "dator", you could just use "informationshanteringsmaskin" instead!

I used three words to make one compound word, the words I used was:

"Information", "hantering" and "maskin"

My family calls the TV remote a "gonk" because apparently my grandpa called it that once back when they were still a pretty new thing, and it stuck. My mom and her siblings passed it on to their own kids, and now there's just a small packet of people in Minnesota who call TV remotes gonks, much to the confusion of our peers.

I have cryptolalia. So... squirtainly.

I have long covid, I'm in the menopause, and I deal with three separate languages each day.

Anyway, gulls are sea pigeons. You're welcome.

I remember there was a reddit community about this for a while, but I can't remember what it was.

My favorite that I've used on occasion during a brain fart is 'food laundry' when I can't remember 'dishes'

Yes, since in my native language creating new words is a build-in feature (I'm finnish). You don't know what's that called? Forgot the word? A new thing that doesn't even have a word for it? Just slap two or more together and it's fine

legiterally

Shoobynorf

Narp

i have sat staring at the word I wrote: "uv" trying to figure out why it was wrong

uv course

A friend went through a lot of relationships last year and at one point I just lost track of their names so I started calling them a random woman's name which stuck, and now the whole group of friends refers to his various love interests with that name.

Nukamajig is something id expect in fallout

Similar thing happens to me with certain subjects I mostly only ever discuss online in English or hear talked about on English-language podcasts.

Then when I try talking about them in my native language, I often realize I don't have the vocabulary for it. Depending on who I'm talking to, I'll either just drop the English term in there or have to pause and hunt for the closest equivalent in my own language - which isn't always easy.

Happends to me all the time, more so since I got COVID. Especially embarrassing when public speaking

There's the -dooj suffix, which means "a familiar thing that should be around here somewhere, and that has such-and-so quality." This is useful for asking questions like "Where's the ... the clickydooj?"

• clickydooj — TV remote
• stickydooj — roll of masking tape, wad of blue-tack, etc.
• pokeydooj — sharp tool, digging stick, etc.
• dogwalkydooj — leash
• scoopydooj — ice cream scoop
• pinchydoojes — tongs

I don’t intentionally make them up, it’s just what comes to me as my brain frantically tries to figure out the right word. Like “fish museum.”

In the context of sorting rubbish:

combustibles / flammables -> burnables

I make words up for things I don't even forget because at this moment I know it's the right word. And I keep them.