44 Things You Never Knew Had Names | The Odyssey Online
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Student Life

44 Things You Never Knew Had Names

There's truly a word for everything.

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44 Things You Never Knew Had Names
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1. Wamble

The awkward, and sometimes untimely, rumbling sound your tummy makes for any number of reasons. Next time you hear the rumble at least you'll know its true name.

2. Aglet


The plastic or metal coating found at the tip of a shoelace. If you learned anything from Phineas and Ferb, this was probably it.

3. Tines

The prongs on a fork actually have a name, and it's as dorky as you might assume.

4. Glabella

The little bit of skin between your eyebrows is called a glabella. Well thank goodness I now know the word to describe where my headaches originate from.

5. Griffonage

A fancy word for handwriting you cannot read. So our doctors don't have sloppy handwriting, they're just skilled in griffonage.

6. Lunule

The white, crescent shaped part of your nail. Next time someone asks you what you're doing when you're filing your nails tell them, "I'm sharpening my lunule."

7. Tittle

The word for the small dots over the letters 'i' and 'j.' Also what sixth grade boys call boobs (not a scientific fact, just my opinion).

8. Interrobang

The combination of an exclamation point and a question mark. Also known as the, "whoops she seems mad" punctuation mark.

9. Obelus

The real name for the division sign, because division sign is far too simple and straightforward.

10. Zarf

The little paper slip we wrap our hot coffee cups in.

11. Barm

Beer foam. I can not explain why it's "barm" and not "boam," but I'm not the queen of naming things, so.

12. Petrichor

The way it smells after it rains, commonly known as "wet concrete."

13. Purlicue

The space between the thumb and the forefingers. Generally the worst place to get a papercut.

14. Peen

The forked end of a hammer's head. What I always assumed was called "the nail pulling out part."

15. Nurdle

A small dollop of toothpaste.

16. Phosphenes

The blurbs of light you see when you close your eyes and cover them with your hands.

17. Philtrum

The small indentation that starts under your nose and runs to the upper lip.

18. Octothorpe

The "#" key on a phone. Now commonly referred to as a hashtag.

19. Armscye

The armhole in all of your clothing.

20. Minmus

The fancy name for your pinky toe.

21. Cornicone

The outer part of a pizza crust where there's no sauce or cheese.

22. Overmorrow

The day after tomorrow.

23. Ferrule

The metal part on a pencil that connects the eraser to the wood.

24. Punt

The bottom of a wine bottle. Not related to the football position.

25. Lemniscate

The real name of the infinity symbol. Commonly used as a tattoo.

26. Dysania

The feeling, or struggle, to get out of bed. Also known as every morning post-alarm clock.

27. Nibling

The non-gender defined word for a niece or nephew.

28. Collywobbles

The butterflies you get in your stomach from excitement or anxiety. Next time you're nervous be sure to lean in to the person next to you and, in a British accent, whisper, "I've got the collywobbles."

29. Snood

The fleshy, red, jiggly part of a turkeys neck. Also commonly referred to as the "dingly dangly turkey neck bit."

30. Vocable

The random syllables or noises that performers make when they're singing. Usually the "la's" or "na's" that contribute to the melody, but really don't serve a purpose otherwise.

31. Crepuscular rays

The rays of sunlight that break through the cloud layer.

32. Brannock device


The tool they use to measure and size your feet at the shoe store.

33. Zugzwang

When every possible move in a board game, particularly chess, is to your disadvantage. This can also happen while playing Connect Four and Tic-Tac-Toe.

34. Scroop

The sound made by silk in motion. You can hear it while wearing a ballgown, or simple by indulging in fancy pajamas.

35. Kummerspeck

A word based in German heritage which refers to weight gained while stress-eating, eating due to grief or using food to fix your heart. In German it literally translates to grief bacon, which I think it's pretty accurate.

36. Crapulous

You know the feeling when you eat or drink too much and find yourself sick or nauseated? Good thing there's a word for that, which also sounds like a word a third-grader made up to make fun of his playground crush.

37. Niddick

This is the technical term for the nape of your neck.

38. Ideolocator

The true name for the "you are here" marking on a map. These are commonly found in malls and zoos.

39. Peladophobia

This is the uncontrollable fear of bald people.

40. Arachibutyrophobia

The fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth, which is ironic since this word certainly doesn't flow smoothly.

41. Zings

The posh name for your average hangover.

42. Biblioklept

A compulsive book thief or collector.

43. Aphthongs

Silent letters in words like "knife" and "Django."


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