On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 23:47:59 -0500, Sheldon Brown
wrote:

Quoth Carl Fogel:
Doohickey and dingus, however, are the preferred technical
terms for simpler parts that fit onto more complicated
thingamabobs or gizmos.

John Dacey observed:

They might be the common words in use within your cloistered world of
motorcycles and bicycles, but other fields have jargon of their own.
For instance, the years I spent in one-design sailing introduced me to
the world of snivvies and dammits.

It's not easy to develop the nuances of how snivvies and dammits
differ from gizmos and doohickies (other than their nautical
provenance) except to say that my experience suggests that your
sailboat can generally be rigged to work with the snivvies and dammits
at hand, whereas most bicycles or motorcycles are rendered inoperable
unless you have the exact thingamabob.

My wife uses "frobs" for these applications. I think that's something
she learned at MIT...

Sheldon "'Truc' En Français" Brown
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Also, are you familiar with the PTF-PTM manufacturing technique? |
| (This term comes from the bridge-building industry.) Stands for |
| "pound to fit, paint to match." --Steve Palincsar |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
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http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

Dear Sheldon,

Frobably a product of the search for a grand unified theory.

Carl Fogel