ThingamajigA thingamajig is an object whose name either temporarily escapes the memory, or whose name is not known. Thingamajigs are typically specialized devices which have a limited number of uses or a single specific use. The term is typically employed by one whose experience with the use of the object is nonexistent or very limited. Regular users of such devices would never refer to them as thingamajigs or any of the related terms listed below. Items which have been or could conceivably be called thingamajigs are torque wrenches, sewing machine bobbins, nail pullers, crochet hooks, and other objects which are gender or trade specific. They are typically smaller than a breadbox. Thingamajig may also refer to a "jig", a tool which has been created for a one-time job (a "gig"). For example, a carpenter may find it necessary to fabricate a device to stabilize a vertical pipe so he may work around it. Since the tool is temporary and unlikely to be required for any future use, it is referred to as a "thingamajig" or one of its cognates. A thingamajig is different from a widget, in that a widget is an actual, but not yet named or constructed, mechanical component. It is also different from a gadget, in that "gadget" is the generic term for a superfluously useful device, such as a remote garage door opener, whose name is easily remembered. Thingamajigs are of such a nature that they are also typically referred to by location: "The doofunny on the kitchen counter", "the geemie beside the couch", or "that thing on top of the fridge." It is assumed by the listener that anything else on top of the fridge, such as the box of kleenex, the pictures of the kids, or the can of air freshener, which are more ordinary and thus more nameable than the "thing" for which one is looking, are not the requested object. Where one might request a hammer with no reference to location, one would not similarly request a doohickey. Even among the world of otherwise nameless things referred to as "thingamajigs", there is a hierarchy of specificity. "Thing," as its name implies, is universally applicable. It is likely, however, that a "gizmo" involves some minor degree of technological sophistication, connoting as it does some mechanical or electronic aspect. Other Words For Thingamajig
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