whatsit colloq.
(ˈwɒtsɪt, ˈhw-)
Also what-is-it, what's-it, and (U.S.) whassit.
[The phr. ‘what is it?’ used as a n.: see what A. I. 1.]
= what's-his-name, what's-its-name, etc. (used variously of a person or thing); a ‘thingummy’.
| a 1882 Philad. Times in Dict. Americanisms (1951) II. 1855/1 The two negro girls, who figure as ‘what-is-its’, are paid $200 a week. 1898 J. D. Brayshaw Slum Silhouettes 158 ‘Now,’ said Joe, ‘who says pudden? Mister What's It—a little piece?’ 1922 S. Lewis Babbitt vi. 77 He's a what-is-it from Columbia. 1931 Kansas City Times 29 Sept., A Whassit. Excitement..Friday afternoon was caused by the appearance of an insect which [etc.]. 1954 P. Frankau Wreath for Enemy iii. v. 215, I couldn't even walk along the passage to the whatsit. 1979 P. Alexander Show me Hero xvii. 178 Suddenly you're a man. Not just because you happen to have a couple of whatsits, but because you feel it. 1984 B. Francis AA Car Duffer's Guide 14 Do you think I ought to check the strength of the whatsit—electrolyte—while I'm at it? |