whatsits
Things called things
Whatsits is the plural of whatsit, a placeholder word for something whose name you can't recall or don't know: Hand me one of those whatsits from the drawer.
It belongs to a family of similar terms—thingamajig, doohickey, whatchamacallit—used when the precise word escapes you or seems unnecessary.
Unnamed miscellaneous objects
- doohickeysUnnamed small gadgets
- gizmosUnspecified small devices
- widgetsUnspecified manufactured items
- contraptionsImprovised mechanical devices
doodads · thingamabobs · gadgets · devices · mechanisms · knickknacks · trinkets · gewgaws
Unspecified items collectively
- junkWorthless discarded items
- clutterUntidy collection of items
- bric-a-bracMiscellaneous small ornaments
- rubbishWaste or nonsense
nonsense · trivia · unimportant · frivolous · miscellaneous · sundries · oddments · bits
Brief forgetting episode
- namelessWithout any designation
- unidentifiableCannot be determined
- placeholderTemporary position marker
- forgotten nameIdentity you can't retrieve
whatnot · whosit · thingy · unnamed · blanking · unspecified · anonymous · nondescript
thingamajigs
Unnamed miscellaneous objects
- doohickeysUnnamed small gadgets
- gizmosUnspecified small devices
- widgetsUnspecified manufactured items
contraptions · doodads · thingamabobs · gadgets · devices · mechanisms · knickknacks · trinkets · gewgaws · whatchamacallits
stuff
Unspecified items collectively
- junkWorthless discarded items
- clutterUntidy collection of items
- bric-a-bracMiscellaneous small ornaments
rubbish · nonsense · trivia · unimportant · frivolous · miscellaneous · sundries · oddments · bits · pieces
memory lapse
Brief forgetting episode
- namelessWithout any designation
- unidentifiableCannot be determined
- placeholderTemporary position marker
forgotten name · whatnot · whosit · thingy · unnamed · blanking · unspecified · anonymous · nondescript · generic
- thingamabobsthingies, doodads, doohickeys, whatnot, dingus