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Placeholder names are words that can refer to objects or people whose names are either temporarily forgotten, irrelevant or unknown in the context in which it is being discussed. "Whatchamacallit" (for objects) and "Whatshisname" or "Whatshername" (for men and women, respectively) are defining examples.

Linguistic role

These placeholders typically function grammatically as nouns and can be used for people (e.g., John Doe, Jane Doe), objects (e.g., Widget) or places (e.g., Timbuktu). They share a property with pronouns, because their referents must be supplied by context.

Stuart Berg Flexner and Harold Wentworth’s Dictionary of American Slang (1960), uses the term kadigan to describe placeholder words. They define kadigan merely as a synonym for thingamajig; if so, then kadigan is itself a kadigan. The term may have originated with Willard R. Espy, though others, such as David Annis, also used it (or cadigans) in their writing. Its etymology is obscure—Flexner and Wentworth related it to the generic word gin for engine (as in the cotton gin). It may also relate to the Irish surname Cadigan. Words describing generic categories may also be used, in this function of a placeholder (e.g., "flower" for tulips and roses), but they are not considered to be kadigans.

Abbreviations used in this article

  • s. = sense; thus s.2 means "sense 2" of a dictionary entry

Placeholder names in English

Things (inanimate objects or concepts)

Common placeholders in the English language include:[citation needed]

These words exist in a highly informal register of the English language. In formal speech and writing, words like accessory, paraphernalia, artifact, instrument, or utensil are preferred; these words serve substantially the same function, but differ in connotation.

Most of these words can be documented in at least the nineteenth century. Edgar Allan Poe wrote a short story entitled The Literary Life of Thingum Bob, Esq., showing that particular form to be in familiar use in the United States in the 1840s. In Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado, W. S. Gilbert makes the Lord High Executioner sing of a "little list" which includes:

. . . apologetic statesmen of a compromising kind,
Such as--What d'ye call him--Thing'em-bob, and likewise--Never-mind,
and 'St--'st--'st-- and What's-his-name, and also You-know-who--
The task of filling up the blanks I'd rather leave to you.

According to Trey Parker's audio commentary, "schpadoinkle" was composed as a placeholder, and was not initially intended to actually be used in Cannibal! The Musical.

Computing-specific

Main article: Metasyntactic variable

Placeholder names are also used in computing.

  • Foobar is commonly used as a placeholder for file, function and variable names. Distinguish FUBAR
  • Hacker slang includes a number of placeholders, such as frob, which may stand for any small piece of equipment. To frob, likewise, means to do something to something. In practice it means: to adjust (a device) in an aimless way.

Other technical-sounding

Other words that may have specific technical meanings are occasionally used as placeholders as well. Some words that are so used in English include:

People

Kadigan-like expressions can refer to people as well. Among words or phrases used in English to refer to people of unknown or irrelevant name are:

  • Tom, Dick and Harry, for a series of three specific unnamed (usually male) people; or for any quantity of unknown people, usually with the term "every", for example: "Every Tom, Dick and Harry showed up to the party." Harriet may sometimes be substituted for Harry for a more gender-balanced version of the phrase, or Sally may be added, as in the tv series 3rd Rock from the Sun. Originated in the Early Modern period of literature as Rafe, Robin, and Dick, who were often used as characters in plays.
  • Uncle Tom Cobley and all — another placeholder phrase, in this case used to indicate a long list of people.
  • So-and-so; also often used as a euphemism for a stronger, possibly vulgar epithet, for example, "that stupid...so-and-so!"
  • Buddy (Newfoundland English), any male of unknown identity, often used in conjunction with "Whasisname".
  • Joe Bloggs (British male, referring to anyone of unknown identity)
  • Fred Bloggs (British male, referring to a subsequent unknown person)
  • Fred Nerks or Fred Nerk or just Fred (as in "Fred, you can't turn right here" (Australian equivalent of Joe Bloggs))
  • Joe Public (British English, refers to an average person in the street)
  • A.N. Other (unspecified person on a list, often abbreviated to ANO)
  • Joe Blow (average male person - North America); a.k.a. Joe Blow from Kokomo, or Joe Who Wants a Blow
  • Joe Shmoe (average male person - North America)
  • John (British English, colloquial term for male of unknown identity, also North American term for client of prostitute).
  • John Doe/Jane Doe (North American term for unidentified corpse, litigant, or suspect)
  • Jane Roe (the pseudonym of Norma Leah McCorvey in Roe v Wade, the watershed US Supreme Court case setting abortion rights)
  • The Joneses (used as a placeholder for the typical average family, often one perceived to have higher social status or aspirations: Keeping up with the Joneses)
  • Mrs Kafoops (Australian, slightly derogatory)
  • Dat fella (Malaysian/Singaporean for "that fellow")
  • Yer man (Irish male)
  • Yer one (Irish female. Unlike the male form, sometimes used to connote contempt)
  • Joe Soap (Irish English, refers to any typical person)
  • Justin Case
  • Himself/Herself (Irish male/female)
  • Lord/Lady Muck (Male/Female who is acting as if others are their servants)
  • Frick and Frack (Indistinguishable Male pair)
  • Tweedledum and Tweedledee (Indistinguishable Male pair, slightly derogatory)
  • Grandma/Grandpa (a usually older adult lacking technical knowledge)
  • PVT Snuffy or Joe Snuffy (US military, referring to any general soldier or low-ranking individual)
  • Kadoogan (One example of 'kadigan' being used as a kadigan is in the Ren and Stimpy Show where Stimpy's last name is given as Kadoogan, an obvious reference to the word kadigan.)
  • "Wendy Wellesley" is used as "Jane Doe" at Wellesley College
  • Emmet and Grockle are mildly abusive yet affectionate West Country terms for tourists.[1] "Emmet" is a dialect word for "ant".[2]
  • Matey is a West Country term for a person with whom one has an anticipated, temporary or intermittent personalised interaction restricted to specific requirements or actions, eg. "We'd got as far as the Okehampton Bypass when we stopped to give Matey there a jump-start."
  • J. Random X (e.g., J. Random Hacker, J. Random User) is a term used in computer jargon for a randomly selected member of a set, such as the set of all users.[3]
  • Fnu Lnu is used by authorities to identify unknown suspects, the name being an acronym for First Name Unknown, Last Name Unknown. If a person's first name is known but not the last, they may be called "John Lnu" or "Fnu Doe", and an unidentified person may be "Fnu Lnu". For example, a former interpreter for the United States military was charged as "FNU LNU",[4] and a mute man whose identity could not be determined was arrested and charged with burglary in Harris County, Texas under the name "FNU-LNU" (charges were later dropped because authorities could not communicate with the man).[5] Fnu-Lnu conjunctions may also be used if the person has only a single name, as in Indonesian names. The name has been considered a source of humor when "Fnu Lnu" has been mistaken for the actual name of a person.[6]

Certain fixed expressions are used as placeholder names in a number of specialized contexts. In formal legal contexts, John Does are sometimes mentioned; in more informal English, people sometimes need to speak of Old So-and-so or What's-'is-name or What's-'is-face (cruder) or Miss Thing. Tommy Atkins is a mythical Briton who filled out all his forms correctly, and as such lent his name to British soldiers generally; his Canadian counterpart is "Corporal (or some other rank) Bloggins". John Smith, often from "Anytown, U.S.A." and John Q. Public are also used as placeholder names, for unnamed citizens and similarly in Britain, one might refer to Joe Bloggs. "Joe Random" or "Joe Average" are also referred to, sometimes more specifically as "Joe Average Voter" or "Joe Random Customer". In Australia, the name John Citizen is used in a similar capacity on samples of forms or cards. In America, Joe or Jane Sixpack refers to the perceived average middle or working class person. In theatre, television and motion pictures, the great actors Walter Plinge, David Agnew, and George Spelvin are pseudonyms used for cast members who prefer to go unnamed. The name Alan Smithee is similarly used by film directors who wish to remain anonymous (often because their film did not turn out well). Conversely, placeholders can be used to conceal identity, as seen in the above Gilbert and Sullivan lyrics. The Newfoundland entertainer "Buddy Whasisname" derives his stage name from a common local usage (combining two terms) describing an unknown male.

Movies and theatre also give rise to another specific type of kadigan, the MacGuffin. This is any object or person used to drive a plot or as the goal of a quest, but which otherwise has no relevance to the action, and thus could be replaced in the script with another similar item with no loss of sense. A foozle is a generic enemy or group of enemies that must be defeated for the plot to move on in a game.

Cryptographers conventionally use a fixed cast of characters when describing their systems in general terms. For example, the quintessential cryptographic system has Alice wanting to send a message to Bob without Eve being able to eavesdrop on them. These are even used in formal, peer-reviewed papers in the field, see Alice and Bob.

Forms of address

Some placeholders are used in second-person to address another, usually — but not always — because the second party's name is unknown.

Sir or Madam/Ma'am. In English-speaking society, the most universally-accepted forms of address to another person, known or unknown, and regardless of station, are "Sir" (to men) and "Madam", sometimes shortened to "Ma'am", (to women). "Sir" and "Madam/Ma'am", for example, are considered acceptable forms of address for most of the world's heads of state, including royalty.

Friend. "Friend" or other synonyms of amity may be used in its literal sense, but is often used ironically to indicate displeasure or hostility. May also be used between strangers in a non-ironic manner. Used especially among Quakers, the Society of Friends.

Terms of endearment. Words such as "honey" or "sweetie" are generally perceived as affectionate between friends, family or intimates. Outside this group, or in more formal or professional settings, the use of these words becomes more problematic. Their use by a person to a member of the opposite sex may be seen as forward or presumptuous, or even patronizing and demeaning (especially when used by a man to a woman). When used by a woman to address another woman, the sense may be friendly or hostile (see Friend, above); when used by a man to another man, it is generally perceived to have homosexual overtones (i.e., suggesting that either the speaker or the addressee — or both — is homosexual).

Second-person kadigans include:

  • Amigo (Spanish for "friend");[12] occasionally used by non-Hispanics when calling out to an unknown Hispanic male (though might be considered rude or offensive)
  • Angel
  • Baby[13] or
  • Babe[14]
  • Big Boy or Big Guy or Big Man
  • Bird (UK, woman, usually young; cf. chick). Also My Bird : a traditional Cornish term of endearment from an older female to a younger one.
  • Bloke (Man, British English)[citation needed]
  • Boo, (urban slang) significant other
  • Boss (East London)
  • Boyo
  • Bra (Variant of 'bro')
  • Bredren (Jamaican slang or Rastafarian vocabulary, derived from "Brethren")
  • Bro
  • Brother:
  • Buddy or Bud ("Buddy" is especially common in Newfoundland English)[15][16]
  • B'y: Newfoundland pronunciation of "Boy", used as a general form of address primarily to a male but now increasingly to females. It does not hold any of the derogatory meaning that the term "Boy" does in standard English, especially when directed at minorities[17]
  • Chick (woman, usually young). Sometimes perceived as disrespectful of women.
  • Chief (for a person in authority)
  • Chum or Chummie/Chummy - the latter being also an insider term often used by UK Police to refer to an as-yet unidentified suspect.
  • Cobber
  • Cuz (Australian Aboriginal English, derived from 'cousin').
  • Darling
  • Dear or Dearie
  • Doll or Dolly
  • Dude (man or woman; also a general exclamation)
  • Dudette. Sometimes used as the female version of dude.
  • Duck, Ducks, Ducky or my Duck
  • Fella (UK + Australian, man, stranger or person)
  • Friend
  • G (abbreviation for "gangster", often used ironically)
  • Gangsta or Gangster
  • Geezer (Man, British English; in American English, an irreverent term for an older man)
  • Grandma, Gram, or Granny, an address to an older woman. Can be disrespectful.
  • Grandpa, Grampa, or Gramps, an older man - may denote disrespect.
  • Guv or Guvnor (UK, man) - usually one's boss or senior.
  • Guy or Guys (to a man, although the term "guys" could be used to refer to any group of people without regard to gender)
  • Homeboy or Homey or Homes' (may be used as a term or endearment between male friends, or aggressively by strangers or enemies)
  • Honey or Hon
  • Jack (man), generally in an unfriendly sense
  • Kid
  • Lad or Lass
  • Lady (woman)
  • Little one
  • Little man
  • Love (UK)
  • Ma'am, Madam, or Madame (woman)
  • Mac (man)[18]
  • Maid, (Newfoundland English and West Country) a woman, or a young unmarried girl or daughter[19]
  • Man (to a man).[20] It may also be used as an interjection, not addressed to anyone in particular, in which case it is not truly a kadigan ("Aw, man!").
  • Mate (UK, man)
  • My Lover (Southwestern UK)
  • Miss, generally addressed to a young woman or girl. In some dialects, it is a form of address for a female teacher, regardless of her marital status.
  • Missus, Newfoundland English term of respect or affection for a mature woman[21]. Also in British English, a term of affectionate reference to one's wife/female partner/steady girlfriend.
  • Neighbour
  • Nigga, (African American Vernacular English) though it has been known to be used between Black people as a term of endearment, there is a controversy associated with its usage as it is an eye dialect of a racial slur, and an ongoing debate as to whether or not there is any meaningful difference between the two terms.
  • Oppo (uk), typically a term used to describe a colleague - mostly in male-dominated environments e.g. the military, construction, industry.
  • Pal or Pally
  • Padre, from the Spanish word for "father", a military kadigan for any man of the cloth, regardless of denomination
  • Pop or Pops, often a disrespectful term for an older man
  • Shorty, (urban slang) an attractive female. It can also be addressed to someone younger than the addressee or to a colleague that is new or inexperienced in the same field as the addressee (ie: a rookie, a new rapper)
  • Sister (woman)
  • Sis, shortened version of sister
  • Skipper, Newfoundland English term of respect or affection for a mature man[22]
  • Son: generally used by an older man to one at least a generation younger; or by a man who, by virtue of rank or position, has charge or authority over the other, such as a drill sergeant over a private soldier. In the latter instance, it may be in a hostile context: "Son, you'd best move your ass before you find my foot up it!"
  • Sonny or Sonny boy: also generally used by an older man to one at least a generation younger; there would be a degree of hostility: "Listen to me, Sonny boy ..."
  • Sunshine
  • Sweetheart or Sweetie

Places

In some forms of English, placeholder names exist to represent locations, particularly the stereotypical backward, insignificant or isolated town in the middle of nowhere. These include:

  • Anytown, USA and Dullsville in the USA
  • Auchterturra in Scotland, and Glenboggin, which has its own official website [23]
  • Bally-Go-Backwards in Ireland (unspecified remote small country town)
  • Black Stump or also "Albuquerque" in Australia and New Zealand (“beyond the black stump” indicates an extremely remote location).
  • Up the Boohai (approximately "boo-eye") in New Zealand, occasionally given as, Up the Boohai hunting pukekos with a long handled shovel. The Boohai is a fictitious river. It is used to indicate that the answerer does not wish to respond to any question involving "where?". Up the Boohai can also indicate that plans are apparently ruined or an item is extremely non-functional.
  • The Boondocks (or the Boonies)
  • (East/West) Bum(ble)fuck (or Butt Fuck) in the USA (vulgar). Bumblefuck, Missouri was popularized by the 1988 movie Rain Man. Also heard as Bumfuck, Iowa or Bumfuck, Idaho.
  • BFN' or 'Bum(butt) fuck, nowhere', refers to being in a remote location or destination and not having the slightest clue where you are, or that where you are isn't anywhere.
  • BFE or Bumblefuck, Egypt (also Bumfuck, Egypt, Butt Fuck, Egypt or Beyond Fucking Egypt) (vulgar), refers to an unspecified remote location or destination, assumed to be arduous to travel to, unpleasant to visit and/or far away from anything of interest to the speaker (e.g. Man, you parked way the hell out in BFE). In Southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey, this is often referred to as East Jabip. In the Chicago metropolitan area, the term was coined to refer to the region in downstate Illinois known as "Little Egypt", centered in Cairo, Illinois, for being the furthest from the urban center in both distance and way of life.
  • Buttcrack or Upper Buttcrack (usually a New England state)
  • Crackerland and Jerkwater (from the 1982 film First Blood, small hometowns of typical US Army recruits)
  • East Jabib, refers to an obscure location far across town.
  • East Jesus
  • Dog River, Armpit or Moose Fuck (vulgar) in Canada
  • Hickville is used to describe a small farming town. (Hick comes from hillbilly)
  • Loamshire for a rural county in England (and the Loamshires for a regiment based in that county)
  • Podunk in the USA
  • Sainte-Clotilde-de-Rubber-Boot in Quebec, Canada
  • Timbucktoo is still commonly used to refer to an unspecified but remote place. Sometimes exaggerated as "timbuckthree", "timbucktwelve", etc. to indicate further removed than timbucktoo.
  • Tipperary can still be used to denote anywhere that is 'a long way from home'.
  • Upper Rubber Boot in Ontario, Canada
  • Woop Woop, Upper Woop Woop or Oodnawoopwoop or Wopwops in Australia and New Zealand (often 'out Woop Woop' as in, 'they live out Woop Woop somewhere,' and used when referring to people who live in a country area unfamiliar to the speaker).
  • Waikikamukau (pronounced ‘Why kick a moo-cow’) in New Zealand

Other place names include:

  • Blackacre, Whiteacre, and Greenacre are widely used in law courses to represent hypothetical pieces of real property of which hypothetical people may be seized.
  • Joe's Diner is used to refer to a typical restaurant run as a small business.

Common components of placeholders for places are -town, -ville, -hampton (in the United Kingdom), -vale, Big-, Mid-, Middle-, Little-, Small-, Bally- (in Ireland), and Any-. The National Health Service of the UK, as well as the Department for Transport, use a large variety of placeholders as examples, including:

  • Axtley
  • Port Lever
  • Lampton
  • Middlehampton
  • Anyshire
  • Eastern Vale
  • St Elsewhere's

Numbers

Main article: Indefinite and fictitious numbers

Dates and times

  • "Eleventh Hour" describes an indeterminate time just prior to a deadline. As in "It got done at the eleventh hour, but thankfully the client suspected nothing."
  • Composite names such as "Juvember" (combining June and November), "Septober" (September and October), and "Decemuary" (December and January) are sometimes used to refer to an indeterminate month.
  • Nonexistent days, such as February 31 or the 12th of Never (usually given as the intended date of occurrence for something that will never happen, as in the popular song The Twelfth of Never).
  • Nonexistent times, such as 13 o'clock, often used to describe when something is going to start or finish, but meaning it's still a long way off.
  • "Up at the Ass-Crack-o'-Dawn," a nonexistent time that refers to having been awoken extremely early, a phrase used predominantly throughout the southern region of North America.
  • "(God's)-Ass-o'Clock," a nonexistent time that refers to the wee hours of very early morning. The word "God" may be omitted depending upon user's preference.
  • "Tib's Eve", named for the nonexistent Saint Tib, is a date which does not exist.
  • "Two hairs past a freckle", (or "a freckle past a hair") said when one is asked the time but despite making the habitual gesture, is not wearing a watch. Is sometimes extended to "A hair past a freckle, going on a mole."
    • Also "Skin o' clock" or "Half-past my elbow"
  • "God-thirty in the morning", "holy mackerel o'clock", "silly o'clock", "butt crack of dawn" referring to a time very early in the morning
  • "Oh-dark thirty", "Oh-dark hundred", or "Zero Dark and Stupid" also referring to some time early in the morning (before the sun rises); usage is derived from military parlance, where 4:00 a.m. is referred to as "oh-four-hundred"
  • "Dark plus thirty" meaning (loosely) just after sunset in Rainbow Gathering or Deadhead (or other festival) vernacular, meaning or thirty minutes after sundown, or more humorously, in at some indeterminate time after dark, Rainbow Gatherings tending not to happen according to any sort of schedule.
  • "Dark o' clock" may mean early or late.
  • "Late-thirty" may mean late at night.
  • "Beer thirty" means it's time for the first beer in a beer-drinking session. Alternatively, beer thirty means an unspecified time during a long bout of drinking or thirty minutes until beer is no longer sold in stores, meaning that it is time for a beer run. Can also be used by bartenders to denote the time when the last drunks from the bar are driving home after closing time.
  • "Pub O'Clock" also refers to drinking, but more specifically going to the pub to drink. Also "Pint O'Clock".
  • "Yonks" is used in English to mean a long but indefinite duration; it is conjectured to derive either from "donkey's years" or from "years, months and weeks". This has been going on for donkey's yonks.
  • "Half past a monkey's ass" or "Half past a monkey's ass and quarter till his balls" is used when one is asked the time but doesn't want to be bothered. Similarly: "Half past give-a-shit"
  • "Sparrow's fart" is an Australian expression meaning very early in the morning - e.g., "I have to get up at sparrow's fart!"

Distances

  • "Stone's throw" / "stonecast", the distance somebody may throw a stone.[7] It is most likely no more than 100 yards[8]
  • A hair for a small distance

Placeholder names in other languages

Most other languages have placeholders of some sort in their vocabulary. See main article: Placeholder names in different languages.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ World Wide Words: Emmet and grockle
  2. ^ Oxford English Dictionary 1933: Emmet
  3. ^ J. Random
  4. ^ Waterman, Shaun (2005-10-24). "Military interpreter 'used false identity'". UPI Security & Terrorism. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
  5. ^ Makeig, John (1991-12-28). "Mute suspect nabbed, but identity still at large". Houston Chronicle. p. 29.
  6. ^ Nash, Bruce M. (2001). The New Lawyer's Wit and Wisdom. Running Press. p. 199. ISBN 0762410639. Retrieved 2008-01-19. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ Stone's cast. Free Online Dictionary.
  8. ^ The Thrower's Page

References

  • Espy, W., An Almanac of Words at Play (Clarkson Potter, 1979) ISBN 0-517-52090-7
  • Flexner, S. B. and Wentworth, H., A Dictionary of American Slang; (Macmillan, 1960) ASIN B000LV7HQS
  • Watson, Ian, "Meet John Doe: stand-ins", section 3.7 in Cognitive Design (Ph.D. dissertation, Rutgers University, 2005).
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