whoosis

or who·sis

[ hoo-zis ]

noun

, Informal.

, plural whoo·sis·es.

1. an object or person whose name is not known or cannot be recalled:

   It's the whoosis next to the volume control.

2. a person or thing considered typical or illustrative:

   the usual paragraph about the party given by Mme. Whoosis.

Word History and Origins

Origin of whoosis¹

First recorded in 1920–25; alteration of phrase who's this

Example Sentences

“And there’s Countess Whoosis, she’s the wife of the Earl of Somewhere or Other. That’s Judge So-and-So. And there go Lord and Lady Moneybags; they’ve been traveling on the continent for a year and only just returned.”

From Literature

And that fellow Gabriel Whoosis, with his "Ah, there's news tonight."

From Time Magazine Archive

We will say that Mr. and Mrs. Whoosis, the eminent ballroom dancers, have decided that they require a different sphere for the exhibition of their talents.

From Project Gutenberg

By the time he has finished an excellent first act, he is informed that Mr. and Mrs. Whoosis propose to sing three solos and two duets in the first act and five in the second, and will he kindly build his script accordingly?

From Project Gutenberg

And he had allowed for this in his original conception of the play, by making Mrs. Whoosis a deaf-mute and Mr. Whoosis a Trappist monk under the perpetual vow of silence.

From Project Gutenberg