Вот это самое

by Don  

One of the most useful words in the English language is whatchamacallit. We use it to indicate an object whose name we've forgotten. For instance, let's say you and your sister are in the kitchen and you can't remember the word collander but you need it. You could say to her “Hand me that whatchamacallit. You know, that thing to drain the pasta with.” Or you are working on your car with your brother and you can't remember “feeler gauge,” then gesturing toward the toolbox you might have this conversation:

“Dude, pass me that whatchamacallit.”
“Which one?”
“The thing to check the spark gap.”
“Okay. Here you go.”

There are a lot of variations on that word. For instance,

Hand me that whatchamadilly.
Hand me that thingamajig.
Hand me that thingamajigger.
Hand me that whatchamajigger.
Hand me that whatchamabob.
Hand me that thingamabob.
Hand me that thingamabobber.
Hand me that thingamadilly.
Hand me that whoziwhatsis.
Hand me that whatsis.

The phrase that the Russians use for whatchamacallit is «вот это самое». Let's say two Russians are in the kitchen and can't remember the word дуршлаг. They might have this conversation:

— Передай вот это самое.
— Что именно?
— Та штучка, чтобы слить воду с макарон.
“Pass me that thingamabob.”
“What specifically?”
“That thing to drain the pasta.”

Or two Russians are working on the car:

— Дай-ка вот это самое. “Pass me that thingamabob.”
— Что? “What?”
— Вон, тот ключ. “Over there, that tool.”
— Какой ключ? “Which tool?”
— Эх, ты же знаешь, о чём я говорю. Чтобы гайки затянуть. “Come on, you know what I'm talking about. To tighten the nuts.”
— Это называется гаечный ключ. Господи, у тебя словарный запас пятилетнего мальчика. “It's called a wrench. Good Lord, you have the vocabulary of a five-year old.”
— Не преувеличивай. Просто забыл слово. “Don't make a big deal about this. I just forgot the word.”

1 comment

Comment from: Yegor [Visitor]

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02/18/11 @ 04:36

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