What’s in a Nickname?
***
Do you have the right nickname? I know this is probably a question that keeps you up at night and leaves you restless.
Surely, you jest, you are thinking. Who cares about a nickname?
Well, I, for one, do care, but it’s only because I’ve recently acquired a nickname from my esteemed colleagues, Chip and Leeanne, that I actually quite enjoy. We had all read the book and seen the film “The Help.” During the conversation about the movie and if it actually did live up to the book, the two of them started calling me (well, Chip instigated it) “Skeeter” based on Miss Skeeter, a wanna-be novelist main character from the book. (You are seeing the similarities between us, no?) The truth is, I rather like being called Skeeter, and I suppose that’s fortunate for me, because the nickname has stuck at work. I’m actually flattered by the comparison—Miss Skeeter was a good character. She had a story to tell, she had a plan, and she set out to accomplish what she wanted.
This got me thinking about nicknames in general. Not all of them are as beloved as Skeeter. Remember the character Laura Ingalls from “Little House on the Prairie”? Her nickname was “Half-Pint.” Any name with the word “half” in it seems as if it would only be 50% as good as another name. Wouldn’t you agree?
As I researched this topic (Googling “unflattering nicknames”), I came across some funny stories of nicknames. “Cue Ball” (for those without hair), “Howler Monkey” (for a child who had a persistent cough), “Baby Boo” and “Sugar Lips” (as lovey-dovey terms of endearment), and of course, there’s always “Snooki.”
But let’s not stop there. If you’re feeling left out because you don’t have a nickname, fear not. I’ve got the place for you to find a perfect nickname that suits you. Go to this site and take a short quiz. In moments, you will have several nicknames you can use as needed. I took the quiz and my results are below. If you are brave enough to do what I did, go get your nicknames, and share them on the blog. I’ll be interested to see if you come away with Half-Pint-Howler-Boo.
My monster nickname: Torn Apart Paper Yo-Yo (what???)
My superhero name: Cloud Razor (actually kind of like this one)
My villain nickname: Long Tooth Big Ears (I should have been in “Dances with Wolves”)
My cute nickname: Smoochie Cuddlekins (sounds like a Beanie Baby)
The moral of this blog post: stick with the nicknames your friends give you. They’re always the best ones.
Signed,
Skeeter
10 Comments
Tim Miller
I never had an actual nickname. My closest friends call me “Timmy” but that’s about it lol
Elizabeth
Hey Timmy! You can do better than that-you work on it and get back to us with something more original!
Tim Miller
LOL thanks. Though I come from the school of thought that your friends pick your nickname. To me it was always lame when some dude tells me “Don’t call me Francis, call me Spider!”
Sue Ellen Grove
My Dad calls me Suds because I’m always bubbly.
Suey is a nickname people gave me in HS. Sue Ellen -Sue E – Suey. Yup. Suey is a pig call. LOL!
Elizabeth
Hey Suds! I love your nickname!
Elizabeth
You guys came up with Zibby in college which is supposedly a nickname for Elizabeth. I liked this one a lot. Here are my results:
Mooksiecuddlepoof is your cute nickname
The Amazing Mailbox-Snowflake is your Superhero nickname
Gogo No-Hair is your Villain nickname
Big eye House Crasher is your monster nickname
Gilbonzo-Fig-Cheesecake is your all-out-weird nickname.
What???
Steph's Scribe/Stephanie Verni
Ha! You guys are crackin’ me up. And ‘Timmy,’ Zibby is right. You need to work on a better nickname. Report back when you’ve figured one out.
😉
Steph's Scribe/Stephanie Verni
P.S. Suds and Zibby are great names. I’m still laughing at Howler Monkey for the kid with the cough…
Valerie
Ok steph, here is what I got…..
Pookiefoof is your cute nickname, Gladiator Bed-Warmer is your Superhero nickname, Hootie-Pumpkin-Evil-Doer is your Villain nickname, Fire-Nails-Hot-Feet is your Monster nickname and Pigtail Snooteroni is your all-out-weird-nickname.
Steph's Scribe/Stephanie Verni
Val–My favorite of yours? Hootie-Pumpkin-Evil-Doer. My first boyfriend’s nickname for me was Pumpkin…and I sorta didn’t mind it.
LOL.
🙂
Tim–Love it.
🙂