So, Social Butterfly said she has a "bike thing" that she can't use but I might be able to, so she wanted to pass it on. I said "Sure thing!" as is my wont, but I was really concerned that I've given anyone the impression that I know about bike things. I assure you, I can operate a u-lock and an air pump, and for anything more complicated than that I call Chad.
I got the bike thing home and we had this conversation:Chad: What is it?
Me: It's a screwdriver and... (opening the little box)
Chad: A key holder?
Me: A patch kit. A key holder? Really?
Chad: Well, I didn't know.
Aside from the fact that cyclists have pockets, panniers, saddlebags, etc. for holding keys, I can't really fault Chad for thinking the little box with the patch kit inside was a key holder, because as you can plainly see, the pointy thing is not a screwdriver, at least not in the traditional sense. And I've mulled it over for quite a while and still can't think of what it's called. We don't use proper names here in the Cheeky house. So, screwdriver it is!
Actually, the non-use of proper names is my fault, anyway, because much like the Smurfs, I replace any word I don't know (or can't remember) with an all-purpose word: in my case, "thingmy". I did this so often in the early days of our relationship that Chad picked up on it, and our memory has gradually worsened ever since, to the point that I barely know what anything is called any more. To paraphrase Tolkien, I only know my own name because people say it all the time. If my friends and acquaintances suddenly start calling me anything but Su, I may have an unofficial name change. Which will be very problematic if I ever get called to jury duty again.
What do you do when you can't remember the name for something? Do you know what that pointy thing is called?
5 comments:
Seriously??? You don't know a whatsit when you see it? The whatsit is used to open the thingamabob on the doohickey which then allows you to fluff up the whatchamacallit so it works again in its usual dingamahooey way. So there you have in a nut shell. Glad you asked. I always like to air my technical knowledge. (Actually it's called a "Y" tool and comes in three sizes.)
Infinitely useful on today’s bikes, Park’s Y-shaped hex wrench has a 4-, 5-, and 6-mm allen at each end of the Y. With one tool, you can work on almost every bolt on the bike. This saves guessing which wrench to grab. Plus, the Y shape provides plenty of leverage for tightening bolts that need some oomph, such as some stem bolts.
everything you never wanted to know about a "Y" tool and were afraid to ask
Excellent. Although I tried to use the Y tool this morning and the allens were all too big for the bolts on the drink holder. :(
I used to call everything 'thingie' until I watched my grandmother's Alzheimer's take over and she started referring to EVERYTHING as 'stuff.' I was determined to get myself as far away from that as possible, so I force myself to come up with the right names for things now, even if I have to look it up.
You had to come along with your sensible plan and mess up my bliss. :D That's an excellent idea. I should bear that in mind.
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