what's-his-name

what's-his-name

See also: whatshisname

English

Alternative forms

• what's-her-name (female)
• what's-his-face
• who's-his-face, who's-his-name, what's-his-butt (less common)

Pronoun

what's-his-name

1. A person or entity, particularly male, whose name one does not remember but that is known to the person to which one is speaking.
2. A person or entity, particularly male, whose name one does not want to mention but that is known to the person to which one is speaking.

Quotations

• 1885 — Gilbert & Sullivan, The Mikado

  And 'St—'st—'st and What's-his-name, and also You-know-who—

  The task of filling up the blanks I'd rather leave to you.

Synonyms

• you-know-who, so-and-so

Translations

A person or entity whose name one does not remember

Arabic: مَا اِسْمَهُ‎ m (mā ismahu) Dutch: jeweetwel, dinges (nl) French: Machin (fr) m (see machin (fr)), comment-qu'il-s'appelle m, c'est-quoi-son-nom m, f, trucmuche (fr) m, f, Tartempion (fr) German: Dingsda (de) m, f Hebrew: פלוני אלמוני‎ (he) Italian: Coso (it) m

Maori: mea Portuguese: fulano (pt) m Russian: ка́к его́ m (kák jevó), э́тот са́мый m (étot sámyj) Serbo-Croatian: (since it can refer to anything of any sex, it is one of the most common Serbo-Croatian buzzwords, some people using it in every other sentence) kak-se-zove Spanish: fulano (es) m

See also

• John Doe, Jane Doe