THINGS, DOODAHS AND BITS AND BOBS

Sometimes, we don’t know, or can’t remember, the specific name for something, or there are too many things to list. The English language has several words and phrases that are useful in this situation.

 THING – the most commonly used “substitute word”

 e.g. “Okra is the most foul thing ever grown.”


 DOODAH – another word for something that cannot be named precisely

 e.g. “There is just something so precious about a doodah that purifies your personal space, leaving your neighbour in the mire.”


 ARTICLE – this word has several meanings, but it is also used to describe things that are unnamed.

 e.g. “The Repair Fair resulted in the repair of over 120 items, while the Free & For Sale Frenzy saved over 1,200 articles of clothing from the landfill.”


 ITEM – another word with several meanings, one of which is something that is unnamed

 e.g. “If the crooks fail to intercept the delivery in the street, they often pose as a courier and try to collect the ‘wrongly delivered’ item from your house.”


 STUFF – used to describe material things or activities

 e.g. “I have a lot of stuff. It looks like I’m a hoarder, but I’m not.”


 Photo credit: KotomiCreations (Creative Commons)