four-minute friday: nicknames
Go.
My mandibular friend and I have been having an ongoing discussion about nicknames for quite a while now. She decided to blog about it. I decided to copy her.
I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m a nicknamer more than a nicknamee. I love coming up with unique nicknames for friends, although I’ve never really had many nicknames in my life. I guess I have a tricky name to work with when it comes to nicknaming… I don’t know. My mom’s called me Midgey Girl since forever (I’m not really sure where it even came from), and my dad and brothers call me Beece. The only other nicknames I’ve had are what my friends Dave and Amy call me—Lizzy Kitty, Kitty, or Kitten. Long story. Don’t ask.
So I’m taking suggestions for nicknames. Let me know whatcha got. We can narrow them down and vote on it.
How ’bout you? What are your nicknames?
Done.
Since you brought it up… I have ALWAYS been curious about the “kittens”. If you feel like changing your mind about prohibiting the inquiry thereof I would read every word of the lengthy tale behind that communal AKA.
Let’s see…
My blog name is @ngie – but that is more of a visual nickname, because how would you pronounce it anyway? Plus it is self imposed, so I would say that is more of a TM (trademark) than anything else.
1. Danielle and I call one another Thumbuddy.
2. My dad calls me Angger-dange. (I have tried to write that out four times now and that’s the closest I can come to the phonetic pronunciation.)
3. Angiecita (ahn-chee-SEE’-tah) is what they call me in Spanish.
I think my scarcity of nicknames is derived from the fact that my given name is a nickname. My name is not Angela. You look on my birth certificate and it is just: A n g i e .
As far as a nickname goes for you I would say… Licita (lee-SEE’-tah). The ‘cita’ on the end is the diminutive form which adds a sense of endearment. It’s like saying, “Dear little Alece.”
So, nicknamer, I will throw the question back to you… what would I be christened ?
MANDIBULAR?????
American Heritage Dictionary
man·di·ble (mān’də-bəl)
n.
1. The lower jaw of a vertebrate animal.
2. Either the upper or lower part of the beak in birds.
3. Any of various mouth organs of invertebrates used for seizing and biting food, especially either of a pair of such organs in insects and other arthropods
ARE YOU KIDDING ME????
:)
anyway, still rescuing you from the spam-monster… don’t know why. sigh. keep commenting. i LOVE your comments. we’ll get to the bottom of this someday. you’re NOT spam!!!!
@danielleH says:
Well, back 96 I tried Alecia for about 3 days…didn’t stick. I vote we wait and see what naturally evolves when you are here…even if we find one for you as a group – then I will have my own name for you!
:)
My nicknames?
I have this crazy one…Yeller…who would come up with something like that? I mean…geez…(I actually love it.)
YanDell – Jake (Daniel’s brother)
Dungeons and / or Dragons (also, Jake – get it D&D?…one will be me and one Daniel, I’m not sure which – it changes…I think I’m Dungeons. I forgot these on Mandy’s list)
Momma
Honey / Hun (Daniel)
Dee
Dee Dee
Danny (High school friends)
Detra (Eric, my older brother used to call me this)
@danielleH says:
Where did your Dam Day go? It was a good post. Funny, made us laugh. I’m glad the big shave was worth it – sounds like so much fun. I’m glad that you got a break and some fun. Fiesty girl :)
angie — i love that that’s your whole name. i have a friend from georgia named bonnie, and having never met a bonnie before (i’m from new york!), i asked her what her name was short for. “nothing… what COULD it be short for?” i replied, “bonilda?” that’s been her nickname ever since.
when i used to go on mission trips to south and central america, i went as alecia (aleesia). here, the basotho call me mamoruti which roughly translates to “pastor’s wife” but really is just a term of endearment for a woman in ministry.
so… angie… a nickname for you… ever been called “gigi”? (i like focusing on the not-typically-emphasized part of a name for a nickname, when i can…)
* * *
mandy… i’m leaping onwards to kung pao chicken as a nickname for you. when i introduced “mandarin orange” you replied with “or mandarin duck”. mandarin duck led my brainwaves to chinese food (which i sorely miss), and kung pao just sounds funny. i’m adding it to the repertoire i have for you.
and as for the mandibular… i just liked having an adjective form of your name. well, kinda. sorta. not really.
as for the kitty business…
when our close friends dave and amy arrived here to work with us, they told us about a cat dave’s sister had which she called emmers kitty. i’d already been calling amy amers by this point, so we joked that she could easily be amers kitty. from there it just progressed and dave became davers kitty, niel nigel kitty, and me lizzy kitty. we’ve all been the kittens every since.
yeller (and yes, what a CRAZY nickname that is!) — dam day will make an appearance tomorrow. i realized today is friday so i needed to do a four-minute post! glad it made you laugh, though! :-) i LOVE YanDell!
Licita,
Bonnie in Italy?
If I remember right (and this is the same Bonnie) her name is Bonnie Day – which means “beautiful day”. Or that might have just been the association that my mind gave her to remember her name 12 years ago in Miami whence we first met.
Thanks for shedding light on the whole kitty business. :-)
Gigi … hm … new … different … I like it … it just might work …
gigi — same bonnie, although i’m not sure about her middle name. she named her first daughter alece, and i got to be with them (in germany at the time) for her first birthday. so, so special.
Licita – that would be so special. And now they are expecting again. How exciting!
=) Amy Joy!
and niel came up with that one, amy joy. i love it!
KUNG PAO here…. but can we say KUNG POW instead? he he!
so… my feedreader caught your dam day. GREAT post – that whole “extra layer of warmth” thing….. soooooo true.
i’m about to go shave my legs, though. yikes!!!! i’ll be writing my razor an apology note.
(you were up late tonite)
and…. oh…… Bonnie Day??? where in Georgia was she from? any kin to the Days from St. Simons Island that own Days Inn??? they go to my old church….
anyway, now you have TWO friends from Georgia!!! that makes you and honorary redneck!!! yay!!!
I have had a few nick names…. Garrett, Rae, Rae Rae, Leanie when I was a little kid and Beaner by my brother (who I get back at by calling him Burr)….but I have two new ones since coming to Africa….
Chardonnay (thanks Alece) and Char (believe it or not….I have never gone by this oh so simple nick name)….
I have a secret nick name for you….one I know you don’t like…but is always in my head…just think Wonderland! :)
Being Christened with a first name of Robert, since voluntarily abbreviated to ‘Bob’, ( i love the way Rowan Atkinson pronounces it – ‘Bobb’- a sort of ‘gloopy’ deep sound like a plug being pulled from a plughole – i know, not an appealing thought ;-) ) I have had Blob, Robbity-Bob and Bob The Builder from various ‘friends’ (i use the term loosely) and workmates. Some used to call me Bobby but i don’t remain friends with such for long! ;-)
Because of my surname (which i shall leave up to your various imaginations) i have often had ‘Thirsty’ (appropriate, though not for alcoholic reasons) and Thurston Howell the Third (Thank you So Much, Gilligan’s Island!)
I loved your ‘mandibular friend’ – my first thought was Mandible – Jaw – Yak – Talk! It seemed to make perfect sense for ‘Mandi’ somehow? :-) And, same as Mandy, i’m getting something weird from your ISP server…?
Your e-mail was marked as ‘spam’ – with the warning” Possible Phishing e-mail” from Windows! Very peculiar?
One for you..? How about Connie?
Short for ‘Contract’…
Your name’s A lease – right? ;-)
love <3
Wow – lengthy comments. :) I don’t have a nickname for you … but if I did, I think I would pick Lisi. I have a friend named Lisa that I nicknamed this, but I think it works for you too. Might extend it to Lisi Marisi. Somehow follows. Although I think the inspiration for that comes from Lisa Marie Presley. :[ Ah well. No one will know, right?
Nicknames for me?
Annie (real name Anita)
Naners
Annabelle (only once or twice)
Tinkie (from my very little childhood – not been called that in at least 20 years)
I seem to think there’s more variations on my actual name, but I can’t come up with them right now.
And I, too, love your Dam Day post. :) Sounds like so much fun! Up here in the cold north, we’re just ticking down the days to weather like that. Sounds lovely.
kung pow — bonnie’s last name was eckert. on my list of friends who blog, she’s “reflections”. and yes, i smile at the thought of having 2 GA friends. did i tell you my brother lived in athens, GA for 6 or 7 years? he did.
chardonnay — it’s so odd to me that no one called you “char” before you arrived here! and nope — alice is off limits for sure!
bob — i picture your name being said like it is in a scene of “french kiss”. seen the movie? know what i’m talking about? i love it. makes me laugh every time. and i wonder if my african isp is causing the spaminess.
annie – you forgot a good one: anneth.
AL: Athens? Drew went to UGA (’97-’01). did your bro go to UGA? maybe they were friends!
AHHHHH!!!! How could I?????? Certifiable proof that my brain was not working well right then. :) Yeah. I like Anneth. And you’re unique on that one. :)
I didn’t have a nickname till Teen Mania.
Supernat
Nat
Natabear
Saharan Desert Queen (this one I gave myself as a joke, but Danny Z uses this one all the time. pretty funny, actually)
Natalia
Talia
So everyone knows, the last two are courtesy of Alece. Nicknames are like hugs. It’s such a simple thing, but it makes you feel loved.
I’m not the best with nicknames.
Though I have a few that have been given to me….
Acceb (my brothers gave me that sucker- and they’re not even dyslexic!)
Chewbecca
Bec- Not really a fan of this one, but few call me it
Beccalicious
Pooper
Whatsherface
Boom boom (I think I told you about this one…Didn’t I?)
Boomer
Rhubarb (it’s a good one)
I think that’s it.
You’ll always be Kitty to me….
Over the years I have been called….
Amers
Riggsy (version of my maiden name)
Quest
Maymer (Botswana 96… it gave us all a few good names)
Maymes… derived from above
I often get asked about the “kitty” business myself. It’s funny to try and relay the story now- because it sounds so silly… like “how did THAT stick?” It just did… and now it is a term of endearment that warms my heart (or makes me purr?)
Well, my family gave me a nickname from birth, “Doodad” They say it’s because I looked like a cute little doodad?! Other than that, my name is Desiree, so people call me Desi or daisey…depending on their nationality. My African brother calls me “American Lady” LOL And I’ve donned myself “MissionChik” ….That’s about all I’ve got.
As for a nickname for you…I’m not very creative so all I can add is “Alli” or “Allie” ?!?! I don’t know…that’s just my best attempt. But it’s kinda cute I guess.
OK, you have me pondering!!! I love to give nicknames, so I am a bit flumixed that I don’t have one for you off the top of my head!
I will apply myself to this situation, and see what I can come up with!
As for me, I have had many many nicknames, though I will share only what my Dad, brother have used since I was very little!
I think I have told you this before, but they still call me “Laundry” or “Little Laundry” at times. I used to play in our laundry hampers growing up, and since my name is Laura, it just stuck!
Now, I barely do my laundry, unless I have to, and I am far from
little! : )
Ponder, ponder ponder….
Love you my friend!
talia — i agree on the “nicknames are like hugs” thing.
rhubarb — you need to tell me about this “boom boom” business!
maymes — (i haven’t used that one in ages!) it IS so odd to think it stuck…but i’m so glad it did!
missionchik — doodad?! ha! i love it!
lauretta — (you left that one out, by the way!) i do remember you telling me about “laundry”. i think that is so cute!
k.p. – nope, my brother didn’t attend uga. he just lived in athens and worked at “the grit” restaurant.
I am commenting again for a couple reasons…
1. It is way cool to be the 25th commentator
2. My theory was right… when you came to Word Press your traffic would go up because people have to come back to check the comments. Very clever! And you have been getting some good comments lately I might add… Boom Boom? I don’t even know Becca, but it sounds like it’s an interesting story. :o)
3. And to say Happy Easter!
Talk to you soon.
see, becca… we all wanna hear about boom boom!
angie… i’ve been amazed by all the increased traffic i’ve gotten. the first few weeks after i switched over, i was averaging 50-100 hits a day. then 2 weeks ago, it jumped to over 200 a day. on friday i had my busiest day yet — 410 visits! now the question is: how do i get all these people to stick around??? hmmm. (happy easter to you, too!)
So, I’m way late, but I have to comment! I can’t think of a nickname for you at the moment…I do remember that Niel used to call you Leeza years ago. Did that one ever stick?
So as for my nicknames…
With a name like Sheladia, you can only imagine. Some of my favorites came from you:
Shineanea
Shinea
Shinanigin
Others that come to mind…
French fry (long story)
Sasshea
Shaynaynay
Sheladiator
Shatwal
Shea-shea
and finally, Shea
Thanks for a great post and getting my day off to a great start. Hope you guys had a happy Easter!
shinanigin – yesss… i was called leeza for a while. he said it this morning in fact, and i was so surprised. i haven’t been called it in ages! AND i’d love to hear that “french fry” story!
Ok, ok.
This is told with embarrassment. Though if you knew me, it might not be so surprising.
Deep breath:::
My freshmen year in high school I was at a retreat with my youth group. It was a camping trip, filled with rock climbing, white water rafting, cliff jumping…all of that intense stuff. One day we played at a park for a while. Frisbee, cooking hot dogs on the grill mounted in the ground, even shampooing our hair in the river (poor-dead-fish. Oops). Once we’d all dried off, we all decided to play a game of baseball. I joined in mid-game, for fear that I’d miss three times in a row and have to gracefully bow out. (I’m competitive, okay?)
I was up to bat.
It just snuck up on me, really.
When the ball made contact with the bat, a fart escaped.
But not a little one.
The most gargantuan one perhaps the world has ever heard. It resounded. It may have caused small waves on that river with dead fish in it it was that big.
And wouldn’t you know it?
I got a home-run.
So I swung, I farted, my face turned scarlet red and….Well, I ran, because I wasn’t going to lose points on a little fart. As I was running my friend Ryan, now on the ground laughing, was yelling, “GO BOOM BOOM! Ye-haah!”
It was an intense couple of minutes. Needless to say, without that jet pack-powered punch, we wouldn’t have won the game.
ho. ly. crow.
that made me laugh really hard!
Okay. I just read Becca’s explanation. Holy cow, that was funny. Great retelling, Becca!!
@danielleH says:
You ready for the Alece nickname reveal:
Lili
What do you think?
:)
There is not an “email me additional comments” correct?
I keep forgetting to check back.
pronounced as “lily” or “leelee”?
(and nope… unfortunately no way to get emails when others comment)
becca: i’m SPEECHLESS.
LEELEE!!! i LIKE leelee! :)
but i’ll probably stick with alece – its still too nice to ruin with a nickname….
I’m proud of the speechlessness.
Haha.