You’ve probably caught yourself saying something like "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" or "gobbledygook" without even thinking about where those sounds came from. Words are usually tools for meaning. But sometimes, they’re just noise. We love the noise. There is something deeply human about the nonsense words we use to fill the gaps in our vocabulary or just to make a toddler laugh. It's not just random babbling, though. Linguists and psychologists have actually spent decades trying to figure out why some fake words stick in our brains while others just sound like static. Honestly, the science of gibberish is way more intense than you’d expect.
Think about Lewis Carroll. He didn't just write Alice in Wonderland; he basically colonized the English language with "Jabberwocky." When he wrote about "chortling" or "galumphing," he was making things up on the fly. Now? Those are real words in the Oxford English Dictionary. That’s the magic of nonsense. It starts as a mistake or a joke and ends up as a permanent fixture in how we talk.
The Secret Architecture of Nonsense Words
Most people think a nonsense word is just a random string of letters. Not really. If I tell you to choose between the words "kiki" and "bouba" to describe a sharp, jagged shape, you’re almost certainly going to pick "kiki." This is the Bouba/Kiki effect. It was first observed by Wolfgang Köhler in 1929 and later expanded by Vilayanur S. Ramachandran. It proves that our brains map specific sounds to specific visual shapes, even if the words don't mean a thing.
Language has rules. Even when we're breaking them, we follow the "phonotactics" of our native tongue. An English speaker might invent the word "glarp," but they’re unlikely to invent "ptak" because the "pt" sound at the start of a word feels "wrong" to our ears, even though it’s perfectly common in Polish.
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Nonsense isn't anarchy. It's a playground with invisible fences.
Where These Weird Words Actually Come From
Sometimes, we need a word for something that doesn't exist yet, so we just mash sounds together. These are often called "nonce words"—terms created for a single occasion.
- Snollygoster: This sounds like something out of a Dr. Seuss book, right? It actually refers to a shrewd, unprincipled person. It popped up in the 19th century and even Harry Truman used it in his speeches.
- Brouhaha: It sounds like a literal laugh, but it’s been used since the 1500s to describe an uproar or a noisy fuss.
- Taradiddle: This is just a fancy way of saying "nonsense" or a "small lie." It’s a meta-nonsense word.
- Widdershins: If you’re walking counter-clockwise, you’re going widdershins. It sounds like a magic spell from a fantasy novel, but it’s just old Scots.
The Role of Literature in Creating "Real" Nonsense
Literary history is basically a graveyard of failed nonsense and a hall of fame for the stuff that worked. Dr. Seuss is the undisputed king here. "Sneetch," "Lorax," and "Zamp" aren't words, but because of the context of his drawings and rhymes, we know exactly what they feel like.
James Joyce took this to a borderline unreadable level in Finnegans Wake. He wrote stuff like "bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk." That's a 100-letter word meant to represent a thunderclap. Is it a word? Technically, yes. Does anyone use it in conversation? Probably not unless they’ve had way too much coffee and a very specific type of English degree.
Why Our Brains Crave This Stuff
There’s a concept in linguistics called "lexical access." Usually, when you hear a word, your brain sprints to a mental filing cabinet to find the definition. With nonsense words, the brain reaches the cabinet and finds it empty. For a split second, there’s a spark of creativity because you have to infer meaning from the tone of voice, the rhythm, or the surrounding words.
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This is why "Jabberwocky" is so effective. "Twas brillig, and the slithy toves / Did gyre and gimble in the wabe." You don’t know what a "tove" is, but because Carroll says they are "slithy" (a mix of slimy and lithe), you can practically see them. This is called a "portmanteau," a term Carroll himself coined. We do this today when we say things like "brunch" or "podcast."
A Working List of Nonsense Words and Their "Vibes"
Since nonsense is all about feeling, let’s look at some examples categorized by how they actually function in the wild.
The Placeholder Words
These are the words we use when our brains short-circuit. They vary by region, but they all serve the same purpose: keeping the sentence going when you can't remember the name of that specific plastic bit on the end of a shoelace (it’s an aglet, by the way).
- Thingamajig: The gold standard of placeholders.
- Doodad: Often used for mechanical parts.
- Whatchamacallit: A literal contraction of "what you may call it."
- Doohickey: Similar to doodad, but somehow feels smaller?
The Victorian Nonsense Revival
The 1800s were a golden age for weird slang that sounded like nonsense but actually had specific meanings.
- Gardyloo: What people yelled before dumping waste out a window.
- Codswallop: Still used in the UK to mean "complete rubbish."
- Collywobbles: That weird, fluttery feeling in your stomach when you’re nervous.
The Internet Era "Keysmash"
In the digital age, nonsense has evolved. We don't just make up sounds; we mash our fingers against keyboards. "Asdfghjkl" is the modern version of a frustrated sigh. It’s nonsense, but every Gen Z person knows exactly what emotion it conveys. It’s a visual representation of being overwhelmed.
How to Use Nonsense to Boost Your Own Creativity
If you're a writer, a marketer, or just someone trying to name a pet, playing with nonsense words is a legit exercise. It breaks you out of "autopilot" thinking. Brands do this constantly. "Kodak" isn't a word with a deep Latin root; George Eastman just liked the letter 'K' because it felt "strong and incisive." He wanted a word that was short, easy to say, and didn't mean anything else so he could own the identity of the brand entirely.
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Google was a play on "googol" (the number 1 followed by 100 zeros), but the misspelling turned it into a nonsense term that eventually became a verb. Haagen-Dazs? Totally fake. It’s not Danish. The founders, Reuben and Rose Mattus, just wanted it to sound foreign and high-end to Americans. They even put a map of Denmark on the carton, even though the ice cream was made in the Bronx.
The Dark Side of Nonsense: Pseudowords in Testing
In clinical settings, doctors use "pseudowords" to test for dyslexia and other reading disorders. These are strings of letters that follow language rules but have no meaning—like "feep" or "stite." If a person can't decode these, it tells the specialist exactly where the neural disconnect is happening. Nonsense, in this case, is a diagnostic tool. It strips away the "cheating" of memory, forcing the brain to rely purely on its ability to turn symbols into sounds.
What People Get Wrong About Gibberish
The biggest misconception is that nonsense is "easy" to write. It’s actually incredibly difficult to write good nonsense. If you just throw random letters together—like "xqzwyt"—it’s unreadable. To make a nonsense word work, it has to be "mouth-friendly." It needs a vowel-to-consonant ratio that mimics real speech.
You’ve also got to consider the "Oobleck" factor. Named after the Dr. Seuss substance, Oobleck (cornstarch and water) is a non-Newtonian fluid. It’s both a solid and a liquid. Good nonsense is like that. It’s both a word and not a word. It occupies a liminal space in our vocabulary.
Actionable Steps for Exploring Language
If you want to dive deeper into the world of linguistic oddities or even create your own terms, here is how you can actually apply this knowledge:
- Analyze your "personal" nonsense. Most families have internal words for things—the "rumple" in the rug or the "glip" in the kitchen drawer. Write them down. You’ll find they often follow the phonetic rules of your upbringing.
- Use the "Malauma" test. Similar to Bouba/Kiki, try naming objects in your house with sounds that match their texture. Is your sofa a "floob" or a "krak"? This is a great way to prime your brain for creative writing.
- Read out loud. To truly appreciate the list of nonsense words from Carroll or Seuss, you have to hear the "mouthfeel." The physical act of saying "slithy" teaches you more about phonetics than reading a textbook ever could.
- Study brand names. Next time you’re in a grocery store, look for names that aren't in the dictionary. Ask yourself why the marketing team chose those specific syllables. Usually, it's to evoke a feeling—speed, luxury, or comfort—without saying the word directly.
- Practice "Glossolalia" (speaking in tongues) as a warm-up. Actors often use gibberish exercises to loosen up their facial muscles and emotional range. Try telling a story where every "word" is made up but the emotion is clear. It’s harder than it sounds.
Language is a living thing. It’s messy, weird, and constantly evolving. While we spend most of our lives trying to be understood, there’s a specific kind of freedom in the moments where we let the rules slide and just embrace the nonsense. Whether it's a "thingy," a "wobble," or a "snollygoster," these words fill the gaps where "real" language fails us. They are the glue of human expression.