Fascinating Words for Things That You Didn’t Know Had a Name

Doohickey or doohickies are words that some people use to refer to everyday items that they don’t know the real names of or can’t remember their names of at that moment.

And it’s easy to forget some of these interesting words that describe phenomenons that you’ve definitely witnessed in everyday life. But with approximately one million English words, it’s safe to say that every object has a name.

So, anyone wondering what the plastic end of a shoelace or the last loop on their belt is called, will benefit from this list of fascinating and unknown words.

Barm

MATTHEW DE LANGE / ISTOCK

Barm is a synonym for the foam that forms on top of beer or the froth that forms on top of fermenting malt liquor.

Because the yeast transforms the sugars in the malt into carbon dioxide, which in turn causes bubbles in the liquid to interact with the sugar in the beer, barm is produced as a byproduct of this process. However, it is also possible for it to form in wine or feedstock.

Scroop

CARLOSDAVID/ISTOCK

The swooshing sound that is made by the movement of silk or other types of fabric that are similar on a dress such as a ballgown is referred to as a scroop. It is commonly referred to as a sound that resembles a creak, scrape, rustle, or a rasping.

In addition to being present in wine and feedstock, this one-of-a-kind sound can also be found in textiles.

Agraffe

LOSTINBIDS/ISTOCK

When removing the wrapping from a bottle of champagne, many people are irritated by the presence of a wire cage known as an agraffe or muselet. The agraffe, on the other hand, makes certain that the cork stays in the bottle until it is time for everyone to drink.

Zugzwang

WHYFRAMESTUDIO/ISTOCK

Have you ever felt like it didn’t matter what move you made while playing a game of chess, checkers, or even Monopoly, you were going to come out on the losing end? The term for this kind of predicament is called a Zugzwang.

Another meaning of the word is a precarious circumstance in day-to-day life that leaves one with the impression that there is absolutely no way out of it.