What is 'versing'? ‘Whatchamacallit' and other placeholder words. Chicken.

What is 'versing'? ‘Whatchamacallit' and other placeholder words. Chicken.

1109. This week, we look at why kids and video gamers talk about "versing" someone. Then, we look at the linguistics of placeholder words like "whatchamacallit" and "thingamajig," including some fun international examples and the now-obsolete word "whiblin."

The "thingamajig" segment was by Ursula Kania, a Senior Lecturer in English Language and Linguistics at the University of Liverpool. It originally appeared on The Conversation and appears here through a Creative Commons license.

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Episoder(963)

087 Used to Versus Use to, and Other Listener Questions

087 Used to Versus Use to, and Other Listener Questions

Used to Versus Use to, and Other Listener Questions Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

7 Des 20074min

084 People Versus Entities

084 People Versus Entities

People Versus Entities Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

16 Nov 20075min

083 Interviewing Tips

083 Interviewing Tips

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9 Nov 20075min

082 Daylight-Saving Time

082 Daylight-Saving Time

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9 Nov 20074min

078 Formatting Hyperlinks

078 Formatting Hyperlinks

Formatting Hyperlinks Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

5 Okt 20074min

077 Verbification of a Noun

077 Verbification of a Noun

Verbification of a Noun Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

28 Sep 20076min

076 Starting a Sentence With "Hopefully"

076 Starting a Sentence With "Hopefully"

Starting a Sentence With "Hopefully" Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

21 Sep 20075min

073 Simplify Your Writing

073 Simplify Your Writing

Simplify Your Writing Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

30 Aug 20076min

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