When the Fairy Godmother casts her spell in Disney's Cinderella (1950), she sings:
It will do magic,Forget "Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo." Our magical word of the day is "thingamabob"--a Swiss Army knife of a word that means, well, just about anything we want it to mean. Not very helpfully, The American Heritage Dictionary defines "thingamabob" as (no joke) a "thingamajig."
Believe it or not,
Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo.
Now "Salagadoola" means
"A-Menchika-boola-roo,"
But the thingamabob
That does the job
Is "Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo."
Some call the "thingamabob" (or "thingamajig" or "whatchamacallit") a placeholder; others prefer the term tongue-tipper. Regardless of the label, it's a word used by speakers to signal that they don't know or can't remember a more precise word for the thingie--whatever it may be.
For the complete article, go to What Is a Placeholder?
Comments
jawn (mostly heard in Philadelphia)
A variation of whatsit frequently usewd in England is whosey-wotsit
So, if it’s not found in the dictionary, where does one go to find the correct term for a doodad, doohickey, thingamambob or whatchamacallit. Tell me cause I don’t know whatsitsname. I always thought a dingus was the plural of dingo, and thingie was the diminutive form of thing. Isn’t “whatsit” merely a misspelling of “what’s it”? Aren’t “gadget” and “gismo” or “gizmo” highfalutin technical/electronic/computer terms?
How about dooberry? (accent on the first and last syllables)
“whatchugondo” can also be clasified under the family slang because its merely a misspeling of what are you goining to do?