Placeholder name: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 17:07, 7 February 2005

Latest revision as of 08:57, 23 August 2025

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{{Short description|Name substituted for an unknown name}}

A '''placeholder name''' occupies a [[syntax|syntactic]] space between [[noun]]s and [[pronoun]]s. They typically function [[grammar|grammatically]] as nouns; their [[referent]]s, however, must be supplied by [[context]], like pronouns. They serve as [[placeholder]]s for names of objects that are otherwise unknown or unspecified.

{{redirect|Nicknack|the James Bond character|The Man with the Golden Gun (film)}}

{{redirect|Cadigan|people with the surname| Cadigan (surname)}}

{{redirect|You Know Who|the Harry Potter character|Lord Voldemort}}

{{redirect|Thingamabob|the American television series on H2|ThingamaBob}}{{use mdy dates|date=May 2020}}

{{Merge from|MANY DIFFERENT PAGES|date=July 2025|discuss=Talk:Placeholder name#Merge John Q. Public into Placeholder name}}

[[File:Contact-new.svg|thumb|Placeholder name on an icon for a contact card]]

'''Placeholder names''' are names used as [[placeholder word]]s, i.e., referring to things, places, or people, the names of which or of whom do not actually exist; are [[tip of the tongue|temporarily forgotten]], or are unimportant; or in order to avoid [[stigmatization]], or because they are unknowable or unpredictable given the context of their discussion; or to deliberately expunge direct use of the name.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Körtvélyessy |first1=Lívia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RdX7DwAAQBAJ&dq=%22placeholder+names%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA364 |title=Complex Words: Advances in Morphology |last2=Štekauer |first2=Pavol |date=2020-10-08 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-49029-0 |pages=362–379 |language=en |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name=":04">{{Cite web |last=Conradt |first=Stacy |date=2008-05-29 |title=The Quick 10: 10 Placeholder Names You Probably Didn't Know |url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/18740/quick-10-10-placeholder-names-you-probably-didnt-know |access-date=2025-08-09 |website=Mental Floss |language=en-us}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Nichol |first=Mark |date=2012-03-16 |title=Placeholder Names |url=https://www.dailywritingtips.com/placeholder-names/ |access-date=2025-08-09 |website=Daily Writing Tips |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Simran |first=Sumaiya |date=2024-08-19 |title=What Are Standard Placeholder Names? |url=https://blog.lipsumhub.com/what-are-standard-placeholder-names/ |access-date=2025-08-09 |website=Lipsum Hub |language=en-US}}</ref> Placeholder names for people are often [[list of terms referring to an average person|terms referring to an average person]] or a predicted [[persona (user experience)|persona of a typical user]] or for an individual whose name is unknown.<ref name=":1" /><ref>Jeffrey Duncan, Karen Eilbeck, Scott P Narus, Stephen Clyde, Sidney Thornton, and Catherine Staes. "Building an Ontology for Identity Resolution in Healthcare and Public Health". ''Online Journal of Public Health Informatics''. vol. 7, no. 2 (July 1, 2015, ): e219. doi: 10.5210/ojphi.v7i2.6010. PMID: 26392849; PMCID: PMC4576444.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Faustov |first=Andrey A. |date=October 2014 |title=Self-identification of the lyrical subject in Russian poetry (a draft typology) |url=https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/70328119/4112-Articolo-14929-1-10-20140705-libre.pdf?1632757465=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DSelf_identification_of_the_lyrical_subje.pdf&Expires=1754778079&Signature=UVAob06WtRRCL2jbMj6hiXm1iNZ6ZkXwJUNOVyBUDhcZ4NiCyIr4EO0ZCr2-eihxtO4UL5XKc1bfuvo8FEPuLtOXOUgH~yWV5hcEccNvbizEPE~ZrqJ45xsNmNKSXEMbXAk-VZbO2bi~s9gY-C0UhNqHMSiAa8c5XWGit7I9zOLjde-8YWkPqAvzxBxBCwj66j3ij1puymzsUDwxlRW9jB0k8mRMZHhcc5yMnae5CYvB1pwsnSUlxXOdNu-vDRg7nC6DsQiIzlzVhYM9s7YG3f4fkuqqoSv5SiYNf38FRMWwzVMX-JqX5QKFmnIDkPeKypVRlVsGq6GbwDnnHMebpA__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA |journal=Enthymema |page=42 |issn=2037-2426 |eissn=2037-2426}}</ref> Placeholder names serve as a "common language" that provide flexibility and clarity when talking or writing about concepts.<ref name=":2" /> Some [[morphologist]]s "will distinguish between placeholders such as ''thingummy'' and placeholder names like ''John Doe''".<ref>Petra M. Vogel, "[https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/complex-words/dingsbums-and-thingy/C1C284249599EFEE7C88C2BFE1B468C5 ''Dingsbums'' and ''Thingy'': Placeholders for Names in German and Other Languages]", in ''Complex Words: Advances in Morphology'', Lívia Körtvélyessy and Pavol Štekauer, eds. (Cambridge University Press; 2020), p. 364.</ref> In computer programming and printing, placeholder names allow creator to test or visual the end product.<ref name=":2" />

==KadigansIssues==

Use of "placeholder" names has caused problems in circumstances where the placeholder is not thereafter substituted for a real name when it becomes available. For example, in 2009, the [[United States Army]] was forced to issue an apology when letters addressed to "John Doe" were sent to thousands of families of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/oakland-tribune-john-doe-letter-stirs/178478117/|title='John Doe' letter stirs apology from Army|first1=Pauline|last1=Jelinek|date=January 8, 2009|pages=8|work=Oakland Tribune|via=newspapers.com}}</ref> A 2015 report noted that hospitals using a standard "Babyboy" or "Babygirl" placeholder for the first names of unidentified newborns has led to mix-ups in identification and medication of the infants.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/press-of-atlantic-city-temporary-baby-na/178477831/|title=Temporary baby names are blamed for many hospital mixups|first1=Eunjung|last1=Cha|date=July 20, 2015|pages=C2|work=Press of Atlantic City|via=newspapers.com}}</ref>

[[Willard Richardson Espy]], David Annis and some others have given the name '''''kadigans''''' (or '''''cadigans''''') to this class of words. The word is of obscure origin. [[Stuart Berg Flexner]] and [[Harold Wentworth]]'s [[1960]] ''Dictionary of American Slang'' contains the word ''kadigin'', and defines it merely as a synonym for ''thingamajig''; if so, then ''kadigin'' is itself a kadigan. Its use as a label for these words as a class may be original with Espy.

== Examples ==

Its [[etymology]] is also obscure. It may relate to the [[Ireland|Irish]] [[surname]] ''Cadigan''. The 1960 spelling suggests that Flexner and Wentworth related it to the element ''gin'', in this context likely a clipped form of ''[[engine]]'', as in the ''[[cotton gin]]''.

=== Companies and organizations ===

* "Ace" and "Acme" were popular in company names as positioning words in alphabetical directories.<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 March 2013 |title=The Origin of the Looney Tune's "ACME" Corporation Name |url=http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/03/the-origin-of-the-looney-tunes-acme-name/}}</ref> It has been claimed to be an acronym, either for "A Company Making Everything", "American Companies Make Everything", or "American Company that Manufactures Everything".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://acme.com/what_is_acme/|title=What Does ACME Mean?|website=acme.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/32268/where-did-looney-tunes-%E2%80%9Cacme-corporation%E2%80%9D-come|title=Where Did the Looney Tunes "Acme Corporation" Come From?|date=January 10, 2013|website=Mental Floss}}</ref> ("Acme" is a regular English word from the [[Ancient Greek language|Ancient Greek]] {{lang|grc|ἀκμή}}, {{lang|grc-Latn|akme}} meaning summit, highest point, extremity or peak, and thus sometimes used for "best".)<ref name=":02">{{cite web |title=Acme |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acme |access-date=28 July 2017 |website=Merriam-Webster, Inc.}}</ref> A well-known example of "Acme" as a placeholder name is the [[Acme Corporation]], whose products are often seen in the [[Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner]] cartoons.<ref>{{cite web |author=E.O. Costello |title=ACME |url=http://www.i-foo.com/~eocostello/wbcc/eowbcc-a.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110712234115/http://www.i-foo.com/~eocostello/wbcc/eowbcc-a.html |archive-date=2011-07-12 |work=The Warner Brothers Cartoon Companion}}</ref>

==Kadigans in the English language for inanimate objects==

Prototypical kadigans in the [[English language]] include:

* ''[[blivet]]''

* ''deelie-bob'', ''deelie-bobber''

* ''device''

* ''dingus''

* ''doodad''

* ''doohickey''

* ''doofunny''

* ''doover''<!-- australia -->

* ''[[gadget]]''

* ''geemie''

* ''[[gizmo]]''

* ''hoochamajigger''

* ''kerjigger''

* ''odds and ends''

* ''oojah''

* ''oojamaflip''

* ''thingamajig''

* ''thingamabob''

* ''thingamadoodle''

* ''thingo''<!-- australia -->

* ''thingum'' (the early form that was elaborated into the adjacent words on the list)

* ''thingummy''

* ''thingy''

* ''whatchamacallit''

* ''whatchamajigger''

* ''whatsit''

* ''whosey''

* ''whoseywhatsit''

* ''whosis''

* ''[[widget]]''

* ''wossname'' (British form of whatchamacallit)

* "[[Oceanic Airlines]]" is used as a [[fictional]] [[airline]] in several films, TV programmes, and comic books, typically when it is involved in a disaster or another event with which actual airlines would prefer not to be associated.<ref name=":03">{{Cite book |last=Rice |first=Evan S. |title=The Wayfarer's Handbook: A Field Guide for the Independent Traveler |date=2017 |publisher=[[Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers]] |isbn=978-0-316-27134-9 |pages=60 |chapter=Don't Fly Oceanic |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/wayfarershandboo0000rice/page/60/mode/2up}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Tobey |first=Daryna |date=2012-07-27 |title=25 favorite fictional companies |url=https://archive.fortune.com/galleries/2012/news/companies/1207/gallery.favorite-fake-companies.fortune/12.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702132349/https://archive.fortune.com/galleries/2012/news/companies/1207/gallery.favorite-fake-companies.fortune/12.html |archive-date=2017-07-02 |website=[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]}}</ref>

Items which have been or could conceivably be described with a kadigan are [[torque wrench]]es, [[sewing machine]] [[bobbin]]s, [[nail puller]]s, [[crochet]] hooks, and other objects which are gender or trade specific. They are typically smaller than a breadbox.

=== Computing ===

''Thingamajigs'' are typically specialized devices which have a limited number of uses or a single specific use. The term is typically employed by one whose experience with the use of the object is nonexistent or very limited. Regular users of such devices would never refer to them as ''thingamajigs'' or any of the related terms listed below.

{{main|Metasyntactic variable}}

Placeholder names are commonly used in [[computing]]:<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gorskis |first1=Henrihs |last2=Aleksejeva |first2=Ludmila |last3=Poļaka |first3=Inese |date=December 2017 |title=Database Concepts in a Domain Ontology |url=https://archive-journals.rtu.lv/index.php/itms/article/view/itms-2017-0012/151 |journal=Information Technology and Management Science |volume=20 |page=69 |doi=10.1515/itms-2017-0012 |issn=2255-9086 |eissn=2255-9094}}</ref><ref>Sewell, Jeanne P. MSN, RN. "Creating a Bibliography With Microsoft Word 2007 and 2008". ''CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing,'' 28 (3):p 134-137, May 2010. {{doi|10.1097/NCN.0b013e3181d7bb23}}</ref><ref>Yuetian Mao, Junjie He, and Chunyang Chen. "From Prompts to Templates: A Systematic Prompt Template Analysis for Real-world LLMapps." In ''Proceedings of the 33rd ACM International Conference on the Foundations of Software Engineering (FSE Companion '25)''. New York: [[Association for Computing Machinery]], 2025. pp. 75–86. {{doi|10.1145/3696630.3728533}}</ref>

* ''Foo'', ''bar'', ''baz'', and ''qux'' (and combinations thereof) are commonly used as placeholders for [[Computer file|file]], [[Subroutine|function]] and [[variable (programming)|variable]] names. Foo and bar are derived from [[foobar]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Raymond |first1=Eric |title=Foo |url=http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/F/foo.html |website=The Jargon File (version 4.4.7) |access-date=September 24, 2018}}</ref>

* ''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. Sometimes used as ''J. Random Loser'' for any not-very-computer-literate user.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/J/J--Random.html |title=J. Random |publisher=Catb.org |access-date=2012-10-06}}</ref>

====Domain names====

A thingamajig is different from a [[widget]], in that a widget is an actual, but not yet named or constructed, mechanical component. It is also different from a [[gadget]], in that "gadget" is the generic term for a superfluously useful device, such as a remote garage door opener, whose name is easily remembered.

Certain [[___domain name]]s in the format ''[[example.com|example]][[top-level ___domain|.tld]]'' (such as ''example.com'', ''example.net'', and ''example.org'') are officially reserved as placeholders for the purpose of presentation.<ref>{{Cite web| url=https://example.com | title=Example.com}}</ref> The term "test user" is also used as a placeholder name during software tests.<ref name=":2" />

=== Geographical locations ===

Thingamajigs are of such a nature that they are also typically referred to by ___location: "The doofunny on the kitchen counter", "the geemie beside the couch", or "that thing on top of the fridge". It is assumed by the listener that anything else on top of the fridge, such as the box of tissues, the pictures of the kids, or the can of air freshener, which are more ordinary and thus more nameable than the "thing" for which one is looking, are not the requested object. Where one might request a hammer with no reference to ___location, one would not similarly request a doohickey.

''Something''[[-stan]] and its demonym ''something''-stani, where ''something'' is often derogatory,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Meier |first=William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KQAQEQAAQBAJ&pg=PA281 |title=Terror's Triumph: The British Empire and the Origins of Modern Terrorism |date=2024-12-02 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=979-8-8818-0200-4 |language=en}}</ref> is commonly used as a placeholder for a [[Middle Eastern]] or [[South Asian]] country/people or for a politically disliked portion of one's own country/people. As an example, ''[[Londonistan]]'' is a placeholder name that evokes the perception of [[London]]'s high Muslim population.<ref name="After">{{citation |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/25/magazine/25london.html |title=After Londonistan |work=The New York Times |date=25 June 2006 |accessdate=12 December 2009 |first=Christopher |last=Caldwell}}</ref>

Even among the world of otherwise nameless things referred to by kadigans, there is a hierarchy of specificity. "Thing", as its name implies, is universally applicable. It is likely, however, that a "gizmo" involves some minor degree of technological sophistication, connoting as it does some mechanical or electronic aspect.

[[Podunk]] is used in [[American English]] for a hypothetical small town regarded as typically dull or insignificant, a place in the U.S. that is unlikely to have been heard of. Another example is ''East Cupcake'' to refer to a generic small town in the [[Midwestern United States]].<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/01/opinion/collins-its-only-a-million.html| title=It's Only a Million| author=Gail Collins| date=April 30, 2014| work=New York Times| quote=It will never occur to them that if voters had not given them that stint of public service, they would be processing divorce cases back home in East Cupcake.}}</ref>

"Stuff" and "shit" are [[mass noun]] cadigans in English.

In [[New Zealand English]], ''[[Woop Woop|Woop Woops]]'' (or, alternatively, ''Wop-wops'')<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/woop_woop |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160928060516/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/woop_woop |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 28, 2016 |title=Woop Woop |publisher=Oxford Dictionaries }}</ref> is a (generally humorous) name for an out-of-the-way ___location, usually rural and sparsely populated. The similar [[Australian English]] ''Woop Woop'', (or, less frequently, ''Woop Woops'')<ref name=":0" /> can refer to any remote ___location, or outback town or district. Another New Zealand English term with a similar use is [[Waikikamukau]] ("Why kick a moo-cow"), a generic name for a small rural town.<ref> McCloy, Nicola (2006). Whykickamoocow: Curious New Zealand Place Names. New Zealand: Random House. {{ISBN|1-86941-807-7}}.</ref>

Most of these words exist in the less formal [[register]] of the English language. In more formal speech and writing, words like ''paraphernalia'', ''[[artifact]]'', or ''[[utensil]]'' are called into play; these words also refer to things made by human hands without getting specific about their form or function. These words also differ slightly in usage: ''artifacts'' are usually found objects of indeterminate age and purpose, while ''utensil'' suggests [[cutlery]].

=== Legal ===

These words have been in regular use since 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 of America]] 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:

* <span id="Fnu Lnu"></span>''Fnu Lnu'' is used by authorities to identify unknown suspects, the name being an [[acronym and initialism|acronym]] for ''First Name Unknown, Last Name Unknown''. If a person's first name is known but not the last, or vice versa, they may be called ''[real name] Lnu'' or ''Fnu [real name]'', and an unidentified person may be ''Fnu Lnu''. For example, a former interpreter for the [[United States]] [[Armed forces|military]] was charged as "FNU LNU",<ref>{{Cite news|first=Shaun |last=Waterman |title=Military interpreter 'used false identity' |url=https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2005/10/24/Military-interpreter-used-false-identity/96581130164601/ |work=UPI Security & Terrorism |date= 2005-10-24 |access-date=2022-03-09}}</ref> and a [[Muteness|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).<ref>{{Cite news|first=John |last=Makeig |title=Mute suspect nabbed, but identity still at large |work=Houston Chronicle |page=29 |date= 1991-12-28}}</ref> ''Fnu-Lnu'' conjunctions may also be used if the person has only a single name, as in [[Indonesian name]]s. The name has been considered a source of humor when ''Fnu Lnu'' has been mistaken for the actual name of a person.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Nash |first=Bruce M. |display-authors=etal |title=The New Lawyer's Wit and Wisdom |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mQAKrt8kL7cC&q=%22fnu+lnu%22&pg=PA199 |access-date=2008-01-19 |year=2001 |publisher=Running Press |isbn=0762410639 |page=199}}</ref>

* ''X ben X'' ({{Literally|X, son of X}}, {{Langx|ar|إكس بن إكس}} or {{Lang|ar|سين بن سين}}) is used in [[Morocco]] by health and [[Judiciary of Morocco|judicial authorities]] in cases where an individual's identity cannot be determined. These cases include amnesiacs, suspects, hospital patients, and homeless people.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-09-23 |title=Médecine légale: X Ben X, l'énigme du cadavre anonyme |url=https://www.leconomiste.com/article/1002747-medecine-legale-x-ben-x-l-enigme-du-cadavre-anonyme |access-date=2023-10-09 |website=L'Economiste |language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-04-08 |title=حملة أمنية تحصي المتشردين و المتسولين لتحديد هوياتهم ! |trans-title=A security campaign counts the homeless and beggars to determine their identities! |url=https://rue20.com/287593.html |access-date=2023-10-09 |website=Rue20 |language=ar}}</ref> In 2009, 80,000 abandoned orphans had the placeholder name of ''X ben X'' and 100 unidentified bodies are buried each year in Morocco under this status.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Elhor |first=Aziz |date=2012-02-17 |title=حقائق صادمة عن أطفال يحملون اسم «X بن X» |trans-title=Facts about children named "X Ben X" |url=https://www.maghress.com/almassae/150896 |access-date=2023-10-09 |website=al-Massae}}</ref>

=== Medicine ===

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

Element names from the [[periodic table]] are used in some hospitals as a placeholder for patient names, ex. Francium Male.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gnyha.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/MCI_NamingConventions.pdf|title=GNYHA Naming Conventions}}</ref> Hospitals also use placeholder names for newborn babies.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-06 |title=Hospitals' practices on baby names may change |url=https://www.columbian.com/news/2015/jul/15/hospitals-practices-on-baby-names-may-change/ |access-date=2025-08-09 |website=The Columbian |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Publishing and writing===

The need for such words increases as [[technology]] advances. Indeed, kadigans have a grand future, if the ''[[Star Trek]]'' television franchise predicts accurately: many of the show's "scientific explanations" of their futuristic technology have a curious placeholder quality to them, causing fans of the show to speak of ''[[Treknobabble]]''.

Placeholder names are used in writing, publishing, and [[typesetting]] where there are gaps in the text, document, or data set for an unknown name.<ref name=":2" /> The correct name is usually added once the information is known.<ref name=":2" />

===Kadigans in computingScience===

In chemistry, tentative or hypothetical elements are assigned provisional names until their existence is confirmed by [[IUPAC]]. Historically, this placeholder name would follow [[Mendeleev's predicted elements#Prefixes|Mendeleev's nomenclature]]; since the [[Transfermium wars]], however, the consensus has been to assign a [[systematic element name]] based on the element's atomic number.<ref>{{cite web |title=Recommendations for the Naming of Elements of Atomic Numbers Greater than 100 |url=https://iupac.qmul.ac.uk/AtWt/element.html |publisher=IUPAC |access-date=1 February 2024}}</ref>

In [[computing]], kadigans also exist.

* ''Foo'' and ''bar'' (see [[Metasyntactic variable]]) are commonly used as placeholders for [[file]], [[function]], and [[variable]] names.

* ''Frapazoid'' is sometimes used to denote a generic piece of [[software]].

===Sports===

[[Hacker slang]] includes a number of placeholders, such as ''frob'', which may stand for any small piece of equipment. ''To frob'', likewise, means to adjust (a device) in an aimless way.

Placeholder identities are often used across multiple sports for a variety of reasons, usually involving an ongoing branding process. Examples include the [[National Hockey League]]'s [[Utah Hockey Club]], who played their [[2024–25 Utah Hockey Club season|inaugural season]] under the moniker while developing their permanent identity (ultimately the [[Utah Mammoth|Mammoth]]);<ref>{{cite press release|title=Utah Hockey Club officially joins NHL, unveils uniforms, logos|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/utah-hockey-club-joins-nhl-unveils-uniforms-logos|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L.P.|website=NHL.com|date=June 13, 2024|access-date=June 14, 2024}}</ref> the [[National Football League]]'s [[Washington Football Team]], who played two seasons with the name after switching away from [[Washington Redskins|Redskins]] due to the longstanding [[Washington Redskins name controversy|name controversy]], and before unveiling the [[Washington Commanders|Commanders]] brand;<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kim|first1=Allen|last2=Sterling|first2=Wayne|date=July 23, 2020|title=Washington's football team to call itself Washington Football Team until it settles on a new name|website= CNN.com |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/23/us/washington-football-team-spt-trnd/index.html|access-date=July 26, 2020}}</ref> and the minor-league [[Pacific Coast League]]'s [[Oklahoma City Baseball Club]], who played one season with the identity after dropping the major-league-affiliate [[Oklahoma City Dodgers|Dodgers]] name in favor of developing a more unique brand (ultimately the [[Oklahoma City Comets|Comets]]).<ref name=OKCBaseballClub2024>{{cite news|title=Oklahoma City's Triple-A Baseball Team Announces Brand Identity Transition Toward Unique and Local Name|url=https://www.milb.com/oklahoma-city/news/okc-brand-identity-transition|publisher=Minor League Baseball|website=Oklahoma City Baseball Club|date=December 14, 2023|access-date=December 15, 2023}}</ref>

===Other wordsSee usedalso as kadigans===

* [[Placeholder word]]

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

* [[Expletive attributive]]

*''kedge''

* [[Filler (linguistics)|Filler]]

*''[[sprocket]]''

* [[Generic you|Generic ''you'']]

*''[[wicket]]''

* [[List of placeholder names]]

* [[Lorem ipsum]]: Simulated text used to fill in for written content in a [[page layout]] design

* [[Mohmil]]

* [[Nonce word]]

* [[Sampo]]

* [[The Thing-Ummy Bob]]

* [[Variable and attribute (research)]]

* [[Fictional company]]

* [[Fictional brand]]

* [[Acme Corporation]]

* [[Heisler Beer]]

* [[Morley (cigarette)]]

==References==

===Vulgar placeholder names===

{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

Any number of English [[swear word]]s can be used as placeholders. The word ''[[fuck]]'' is noted for being used in many roles and parts of speech, both with and without derogatory intent: a ''fucker'' may be any thing or person whatsoever, while ''fucking with'' something is equivalent to ''fooling with'' or ''messing with'' it and denotes no particular action. English is hardly unique in this regard; see below for similar uses in Russian and Spanish.

{{refbegin}}

The words ''[[shit]]'' and, more rarely, ''crap'' are used as [[mass noun]] placeholders, cruder equivalents to ''stuff''.

* 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}} {{OCLC|875372335}}

==Kadigans in the English language for people==

* Watson, Ian, "Meet John Doe: stand-ins", section 3.7 in [https://www.ianwatson.org/cognitive_design.pdf IanWatson.org]{{Dead link|date=September 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, ''Cognitive Design'', (Ph.D. dissertation, [[Rutgers University]], 2005).

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:

{{refend}}{{Personal names}}

*''So-and-so''

*''What's his/her face''

*''What's his/her name''

*''Miss Thing'' (cf. French ''Petit Chose'')

Certain fixed expressions are used as placeholder names in a number of specialized contexts. In formal [[law|legal]] contexts, [[John Doe]]s are sometimes mentioned; in more informal English, people sometimes need to speak of ''Old So-and-so'' or ''What's-'is-name'' 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. [[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 or [[Fred Bloggs]]. In [[theatre]], [[television]] and [[motion picture]]s, the great [[actor]]s [[Walter Plinge]], [[David Agnew]], and [[George Spelvin]] are [[pseudonym]]s used for cast members who prefer to go unnamed. The name [[Alan Smithee]] is similarly used by film directors who wish to remain anonymous.

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, 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.

==Kadigans in the English language for places==

In some forms of English, kadigans exist to represent places, particularly the stereotypical back-blocks town in the middle of nowhere. These include:

*''East Jesus'' in the USA

*''East Bumfuck'' in the USA (somewhat impolite)

*''Podunk'' in the USA

*''Woop-woop'' in Australia

*''Waikikamukau'' (pronounced 'Why kick a moo-cow") in New Zealand

==Kadigans in other languages==

Most other languages have kadigans of some sort in their vocabulary.

The [[Chinese language|Chinese]] term is ''shenme shenme'' (&#20160;&#20040;&#20160;&#20040;) and its usage mirrors that of the Japanese explained below.

[[Esperanto]] has an all-purpose kadigan root ''um'', which has no fixed meaning, which can be inflected in various forms, ''umi, umo, umilo,'' etc.

In [[French language|French]], an unspecified artifact can be ''le bidule''; this is from [[military]] [[slang]] for something in disarray; the word ''machin'', derived from ''[[machine]]'', is also used as a kadigan. To call something a ''truc'' suggests a gadget that gets its job done with astonishing efficiency. [[Quebec French lexicon|Quebec French]] also has ''patente'', ''gogosse'' and such (most of which have verb forms meaning "to fiddle with").

[[German language|German]] also sports a variety of kadigans; some, as in English, contain the element ''Dings'', ''Dingsda'', ''Dingsbums'', [[cognate]] with English ''[[thing]]''. Also, ''Krimskrams'' suggests some sort of technical doodad. In a slightly higher register, ''Ger&auml;t'' represents a miscellaneous artifact or utensil. The use of the word ''Teil'' (part) is a relatively recent kadigan in German that has gained great popularity since the late [[1980s#Popular_culture|1980s]]. Initially a very generic kadigan, it has obtained specific meaning in certain contexts. For example, to buy [[Ecstasy_(drug)|ecstasy]] customers usually simply ask for parts (''Teile'') without danger of ambiguation.

In [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] the word ''izé'' (a stem of of ancient [[Finno-Ugric]] heritage) is used, referring primarily to inanimate objects but sometimes also to people, places, concepts, or even adjectives. Hungarian is very hospitable to [[Derivation_(linguistics)|derivational]] processes and the ''izé-'' stem can be further extended to fit virtually any grammatical category, naturally forming a rich family of derivatives: e.g. ''izé'' whatchamacallit (noun), ''izés'' whatchamacallit-ish (adjective), ''izébb'' or ''izésebb'' more whatchamacallit(ish) (comparative adjective), ''izésen'' in a whatchamacallitish manner (adverb), ''izél'' to whatchamacallit (often meaning: screw up) something (transitive verb), ''izéltet'' to cause someone to whatchamacallit (transitive verb), ''izélget'' to whatchamacallit continually (often meaning: pester, bother -- frequentative verb), ''izél&#337;dik'' to whatchamacallit (fool, mess) around (durative verb). (In [[slang]] ''izé'' and its verbal and nominal derivatives often take on sexual meanings). In addition to its placeholder function, ''izé'' is an all-purpose [[Speech_disfluencies|hesitation word]], like ''ah,'' ''er,'' ''um'' in English.

In [[Italian language|Italian]] the word ''coso'' is used, apparently related to ''cosa'', "thing".

In [[Japanese language|Japanese]], ''naninani'' (&#12394;&#12395;&#12394;&#12395;, a doubled form of the word ''nani'', meaning ''what'') is often used as a kadigan. It does not neccessarily mean a physical object; for example, it is often used to stand in for an omitted word when discussing grammar.

In [[Latin]] the word ''res'' (thing) is used. Some Latin legal writers used the name [[Numerius Negidius]] as a John Doe placeholder name; this name was chosen in part because it shares its initals with the Latin phrases (often abbreviated in manuscripts to ''NN'') ''[[nomen nescio]]'', "I don't know the name"; ''nomen nominandum'', "name to be named" (used when the name of an appointee was as yet unknown); and ''non nominatus/nominata'', "not named".

In [[Maori language|Maori]] the word ''taru'', literally meaning "long grass" or "weeds" is used.

In [[Polish language|Polish]] most popular kadigans are ''dynks'' (see [[German]] ''Dings'') and ''wihajster'' (equals to [[German]] ''wie heisst er?'' - ''how do you call this?''). Others like ''elemelek'' or ''pipsztok'' are probably not so well known.

In [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], common kadigans are ''treco'' and ''negócio'', among others. Kadigans for people are usually ''Fulano''/''Fulana'' (optionally surnamed ''de Tal''), ''Sicrano''/''Sicrana'' and ''Beltrano''/''Beltrana''. ''João das Couves'' or ''José da Silva'' are also used.

In [[Russian language|Russian]], the most common kadigans are ''&#1096;&#1090;&#1091;&#1082;&#1072;'' (thing) and ''&#1093;&#1091;&#1081;&#1085;&#1103;'' (in [[Mat (language)|mat]] slang; roughly translatable as "little fucker").

[[Spanish language|Spanish]] tends to use fairly self-explanatory phrases as kadigans: ''el como-se-llama'' ("what's-it-called"), ''el que-te-dije'' ("what-you-say"); they also reach for [[Latin]], and borrow ''qu&iacute;dam'' as a word for something or another. ''Chisme'' is generally used for any object, whereas a ''tapa'' would refer to any sort of [[food]]. Both placeholders are often heard, and there are countless [[restaurants]] in [[Spain]] and other countries that include the word ''Tapa'' or ''Tapas'' in their name. [[Mexico|Mexican]] Spanish adds ''chingadera'' ("fucker"), not to be used in polite circumstances. Kadigans for unspecified persons include ''Don Fulano''/''Doña Fulana'' and ''Fulano/Fulana de Tal''; if a second or third person is needed, they are ''Mengano'' and ''Zutano''.

[[Turkish language|Turkish]] uses at least the word ''[[Wiktionary:dalga|dalga]]''.

One of the kadigans in [[Ubykh language|Ubykh]], '''zams^jada''', may be related to another word meaning ''useless''.

==See also==

*[[Metasyntactic variable]]

*[[Sampo]]

==References==

*Espy, W., ''An Almanac of Words at Play'' (Clarkson Potter, [[1979]]) ISBN 0517520907

*Flexner, S. B. and Wentworth, H., ''A Dictionary of American Slang''; (Macmillan, 1960) ISBN 9998065100

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[[Category:Linguistics]]

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