These People Forgetting Their Words Will Absolutely Make Your Day

There are, like, a lot of words. So many. Definitely more than any one person could possibly hold in their head at one time.

So it's only natural that every once in a while, people forget the word for something. Sometimes they forget super technical words that they've only used once or twice in their life. That's nothing too exciting. What's hilarious is when people forget the very simple, short words that they use, more or less, every single day.

One time, I was making the bed with my husband and couldn't remember the word "pillowcase." Rather than just pointing or saying "the pillow thing," my brain instead decided to spit out the word "shootcake." Which is actually not a word. It's complete nonsense. Still, it was so funny that we still refer to pillowcases as "shootcakes" to this day.

Recently, someone started a Twitter thread sharing examples of them forgetting very common words along with the very entertaining alternative words they came up with instead. The responses are so good.

It all started when physicist Paul Coxon shared that he had forgotten the word for "photon."

Hello my name is Paul, I have a PhD in physics and thanks to a random brain freeze forgot the word for photon so ha… https://t.co/wBzix7oH9U
— Paul Coxon (@Paul Coxon)1550502649.0

Obviously, most of us don't use the word "photon" very much in our everyday lives, but you can see why Coxon would. Personally, I'm a big fan of "shiny crumb."

Coxon's tweet quickly took off. He shared this brilliant follow-up when it did:

If I had a SoundCloud it’d be here but that’s what I call a thunderstorm
— Paul Coxon (@Paul Coxon)1550564725.0

Why did we not name thunderstorms "soundclouds" in the first place? Seems like a real missed opportunity.

Other people in academia began sharing their own examples of forgetting words:

@paulcoxon I was once trying to say “journal article” and my brain somehow came up with “journicle” 🙃
— GirlWhoWaited01 (@GirlWhoWaited01)1550528495.0

It's nice to know that even some of the smartest people on the planet suffer from a good old-fashioned brain fart every now and again. It makes me feel better, anyway.

This person forgot the word for "trowel":

@paulcoxon Hello my name is Sue. I have a PhD and a career in landscape archaeology and thanks to a random brain fr… https://t.co/Zz74xXVRv5
— Prof Susan Oosthuizen (@Prof Susan Oosthuizen)1550517296.0

"Diggin implement" certainly isn't incorrect! (Also, now I need to know what a career in landscape archaeology entails!)

This is just embarrassing:

@DrSueOosthuizen @paulcoxon Hello my name is Ken. I have a PhD in geophysics and thanks to a random brain freeze fo… https://t.co/CBJzLPfynz
— Ken Hamilton (@Ken Hamilton)1550525295.0

On the one hand, at least you didn't forget the word for something you use every single day in your career. On the other hand, forgetting your long-time colleague's name might actually be worse.

But it's nowhere near as bad as this one:

@fen_ken @DrSueOosthuizen @paulcoxon Hi. I’m Elizabeth. I have a First Class BA(Hons) and thanks to a random brain… https://t.co/WOLYX0tpnf
— Elizabeth Cottuli (@Elizabeth Cottuli)1550526632.0

Yeah, I might have called a pillowcase a "shootcake," but at least I've always known my husband's name. So far, at least.

"I'm good at saying things."

@paulcoxon I forgot the word ‘articulate’ in an interview for a voluntary post and instead said ‘I’m good at saying… https://t.co/iI25kw1ffK
— Kathy Activist Lawyer Hirst (@Kathy Activist Lawyer Hirst)1550521546.0

At least "I'm good at saying things" is grammatically correct! It could have been way worse. You could have said something like, "I word good."

This person joined the discussion with further crumb names.

@paulcoxon Electron = zappy crumb Gluon = sticky crumb Baryon = heavy crumb Fermion = lonely crumb Boson = friendly… https://t.co/zsE1NHExrw
— HiggsBosoff (@HiggsBosoff)1550516183.0

Tag yourself. I'm Friendly Crumb.

Of course, this type of brain freeze isn't limited to members of academia:

@paulcoxon I don't have a PHD in anything, forgot the name for a young horse, so called it a horseling which I'm gonna continue with.
— Scarcely Birding et al (@Scarcely Birding et al)1550525798.0

"Horseling" is so good. I don't think I'll ever hear of a better name for a baby horse.

This person literally forgot the word for "table."

I didn't even realize that was possible. I'm sure they bring a lot of other skills to the flat surface with legs, though.

And, of course, pregnancy brain is totally a thing:

@paulcoxon When I was pregnant with my first, I cried one day because I forgot the word "banana." I described it t… https://t.co/fqhI63PRCH
— secret sara-mony (@secret sara-mony)1550562688.0

I can so easily imagine this woman getting more and more frustrated at her inability to pull the word "banana" out of her brain. I hope she got it eventually!

Hold on. "Egg torpedo"?!

I guess a baguette is rather torpedo-shaped. This is still pretty wacky, though.

I like how this person doubled down.

@paulcoxon Once in class I was teaching forces and motion and couldn’t remember the word “rocket”. Out of my mouth… https://t.co/4NAbnvWC1G
— Dr. Dawn of the Dead (@Dr. Dawn of the Dead)1550541624.0

If you're a teacher and you make a mistake, you have two options. Immediately correct yourself and hope your students move on to the next topic, or double down and invent a new phrase for the word "rocket."

"Finishment of the week."

@paulcoxon my favourite brain fart in recent memory was forgetting the word ‘weekend’ and substituting with “finishment of the week”
— “Diogo!!! DIOGAAAHHH!!!!!!” (@“Diogo!!! DIOGAAAHHH!!!!!!”)1550538244.0

This is way too fancy for my blood. I'm glad we actually have the word "weekend."

This one made me laugh out loud:

@paulcoxon One of my cleverest and most fabulous friends at university (now PhD in neuroscience) once forgot the wo… https://t.co/IspB5YS8Tx
— Wesley Mallin (@Wesley Mallin)1550527867.0

It's not just a wet salad. It's a "really REALLY wet salad." (Still, she's not wrong!)

This just seems like an all-around uncomfortable situation:

@paulcoxon I once forgot the name for a urinal when trying to tell a staff member in the resturant I was in that th… https://t.co/btexTqZ85r
— Colin Stewart (@Colin Stewart)1550518150.0

What hand gestures were you using, exactly?

"Scholeagues."

How do we get "scholeagues" to be accepted as an official part of the vernacular? That portmanteau is way too good to pass up.

I don't think I like this one.

@paulcoxon Reminds me of my two year old daughter explaining a hot dog to me as a "meat pickle"
— Alistair Dove (@Alistair Dove)1550516033.0

Is it pickle-shaped? Yes. Is it made of meat? Also yes. But "meat pickle"? I just can't follow you down that path.

Have you ever forgotten the word "fork"?

@paulcoxon Not in the same delightful league, but in the final throes of writing SATC, I forgot the word 'fork' whi… https://t.co/dEbsSoyg7r
— Laurie Winkless (@Laurie Winkless)1550542615.0

I'm pretty sure she was talking about a dinglehopper. I forget that word sometimes, too.

Uh-oh.

@paulcoxon Hello, im Sue, I'm a horticulturist, almost with a PhD in gardens, and I got my organisms and orgasms mi… https://t.co/6SckhQ3YG8
— Dr Suzanne Moss 🌱🏳️‍🌈 (@Dr Suzanne Moss 🌱🏳️‍🌈)1550520414.0

Don't worry. One time I said "erotic driver" instead of "erratic driver" in my 9th grade English class. I still haven't gotten over the embarrassment.

This one made me cringe:

@Sane217 @dunnem12 @paulcoxon I once said “defecating” instead of “deprecating” in an interview. It was over 10 yea… https://t.co/q9FMjdq3Lo
— your mom (@your mom)1550544612.0

You know they were talking about self-deprecating humor. Self-defecating humor is...something else entirely.

We need to adopt this terminology:

@paulcoxon My five year old niece calls ravens 'Halloween Eagles'
— The Lady Red- the night is dark and full of terror (@The Lady Red- the night is dark and full of terror)1550540871.0

Can we just have children name everything from now on? I can't see any way that could go wrong.

"Science blazer."

@paulcoxon I haven't studied biology, chemistry or physics since my GCSEs and few weeks ago couldn't remember the w… https://t.co/icIQ9WHkqe
— Russell Honeywell (@Russell Honeywell)1550562412.0

Yes! Three cheers for "science blazer"! That is my new favorite thing.

You're not technically wrong.

@paulcoxon I've got 3 first class degrees, but once forgot the name for the oven; calling it the "hot box". It happens to us all.
— Gareth Tallon 📷 (@Gareth Tallon 📷)1550519329.0

It's a box. It's hot. What more do you want?

This one is along the same lines as "hot box."

@GHTallon @paulcoxon My daughter didn't know the word "Microwave", so she called it "the hot refrigerator. She also… https://t.co/9duzCFuZri
— T minus 123 hours 😷🌊 (@T minus 123 hours 😷🌊)1550520395.0

Hot refrigerator. Makes sense to me! (So does "foot wrist," BTW.)

Heroes in a half lid.

@paulcoxon I have a doctorate in nursing practice and I had to tell my family about the turtle that I saved on the… https://t.co/HA0tqb1AQn
— Aimee Burch (@Aimee Burch)1550596451.0

"Lid" makes it seem like you're going to open up the turtle and eat whatever is inside it. Just me?

How do you forget the word "pants"?!

@paulcoxon I once blanked on the word "pants" and instead said "shirts but for your legs."
— Jennifer Lee Rossman (@Jennifer Lee Rossman)1550588326.0

I don't know how anyone could forget the word "pants," but I admire the speed with which they came up with "shirts but for your legs." It's so evocative, no?

Remember when I said "horseling" was my favorite word for a baby horse?

@paulcoxon Haha my sympathies. Shiny crumb is a much better name for it. My 17yo forgot the word for “foal” in the… https://t.co/ayM19oj1Gg
— Mel clarke (@Mel clarke)1550528761.0

I lied. It's actually "horse puppy." I'm going to call all baby animals puppies, now. Cat puppy. Chicken puppy. Human puppy.

Not that Garfield.

@paulcoxon @JenLRossman Hello. My name is Haley, and I am mere weeks away from obtaining my PhD in U.S. History. I… https://t.co/ahnHqy3qQV
— Dr. Gienow-McConnell (@Dr. Gienow-McConnell)1550531435.0

Please tell me you brought some lasagna with you. Please. I need this.

"Thingies."

@paulcoxon Hello, I am a librarian and thanks to a random brain freeze I forgot the word for book and said to a new… https://t.co/1VlomHTjkl
— Beth Dunston (@Beth Dunston)1550543851.0

Hey, it's true. My library has a great selection of thingies, too! Share this with someone who always has the funniest brain farts!