What's that thingy called...

[OzoneRed]

up on the tip of a flagpole? It's usually a gold ball, or (in the USA) a gold eagle. Is there a name for it?

Please don't tell me it's called "the thingy on top of the flagpole."

 

[Quoll]

A finial.

 

[SweetErika]

A finial.

Yep, or at least that's what I've been taught.

Google 'flagpole finial' to confirm.

 

[NippleMuncher]

I just call it that thingy at the top of the flagpole.

 

[SweetErika]

I just call it that thingy at the top of the flagpole.

Hubby gets really frustrated with me because I call a lot of stuff thing, thingy, deal, dealy and sometimes dealiebopper , just like my mother. And then I get frustrated because it's SO obvious [to me, of course] what I'm referring to, and if he just listened to the context, I'm positive he'd get it. For a long time, I did it with Spanish words, too, even though he really doesn't speak any Spanish.

Anyway, it's a habit I'm trying to break because I know it sounds totally stupid* and the last thing I want to do is end up really scatterbrained, like my mom, or pass it on to our munchkin.

*Not that you (or anyone) calling a finial a thingy is stupid; it just reminded me of my own bad habit of using indiscriminate terms for a lot of items in the heat of the moment.

 

[NippleMuncher]

I was teasing.

I fully understand where you're coming from though, and admit that when I am at a loss for words I too tend to use do-hicky, thing-a-muh-bob, etc. What I hate is that the right word is usually on the tip of my tongue, but the brain just can't quite make it come out.

When I was in construction, I used to jokingly say that I was bilingual because I spoke fluent "housewife", meaning I could converse with ANYONE without any trade knowledge and not only know what they were talking about, but be able to take techno-babble and turn it into something they could understand. As a matter of fact, my favorite story is about the time I was talking to a woman real estate agent in her office. She was asking me some questions about one of her properties that had a problem. In typical fashion, she was wildly waving her arms and hands while she tried to describe the problem, complete with "do-hicky" and "thingie-ma-jig". There were several male agents standing behind her, laughing and tossing in comments while I stood there intently listening to what woman was saying. When she finished, before I could say anything, one of the guys asked me if I knew what she was talking about. I said yes, then proceeded to perfectly describe the situation just told to me in technical terms. All the men had a look of shock on their faces and dispersed quickly, while the woman got a big grin on her face just before asking me to go take care of the problem with the property.

The ability to speak housewife made me very popular.

 

[jayce1066]

On military bases people call the thing at the top of a flagpole the truck.

 

[Eilan]

Hubby gets really frustrated with me because I call a lot of stuff thing, thingy, deal, dealy and sometimes dealiebopper , just like my mother.

My grandma always used "dooflochie" or "dooflochy." Hell, I'm not even sure how it's supposed to be spelled.

 

[coastal-boy]

Ask 100 people if they know what you are talking about if you ask about a flagpole finial.

Then ask 100 people if they know what you are talking about if you ask about a flagpole truck.

Finally, ask 100 people if they know what you are talking about if you ask about the gold ball thingy at the top of a flag pole.

Sometimes...thingy works really well. Almost as good as doohickus.

 

[Quoll]

On military bases people call the thing at the top of a flagpole the truck.

I came across that when I was looking it up, I read half a sentence that implied that the truck was the bit under the finial, of course that was on my phone at 4:30 in the morning and now I can't find it again.
Top works for me.



Re: the thingy problem, Saucyminx seems to have it licked.

Typical conversation of late

me: Hey son, can you get me that. . um. . . (hesitation due to senior moment)

him: penis?

me: yes, thanks, thanks so much, get the penis out of the kitchen, while you are out there can you also grab the windex?

why oh why is every other word spoken in my house these days the word "penis"?

So I hope from now on, when any of us are lost for the right word, penis pops up.

 

[NippleMuncher]

I came across that when I was looking it up, I read half a sentence that implied that the truck was the bit under the finial, of course that was on my phone at 4:30 in the morning and now I can't find it again.
Top works for me.

Not to go all technical, but the truck is the pulley at the top of the pole in which the rope or cable loops through to raise/lower the flag.

For a more technical description:
http://www.amcanflags.com/terminology.aspx
- The pulley mechanism atop the pole that guides the halyard as the flag is being raised or lowered.


Technically speaking, the finial is the tippety tippiest, mostest toppety top part of the pole itself, technically speaking ...

 

[OzoneRed]

A finial.

Thanks Quoll

I came across that when I was looking it up...

For my own edification, where did you look that up? Some kind of reverse dictionary?

 

[Quoll]

Thanks Quoll


For my own edification, where did you look that up? Some kind of reverse dictionary?

I just did a google search for "flagpole tip", which gave me this link http://www.ehow.com/facts_5008742_what-flagpole-truck.html, on the side of that page was this question http://www.ehow.com/facts_5788042_name-ball-top-flagpole_.html

 

[Aurantica]

Its also called a truck.

 

[NippleMuncher]

Its also called a truck.

Uh, no-oo ...

Not to go all technical, but the truck is the pulley at the top of the pole in which the rope or cable loops through to raise/lower the flag.

For a more technical description:
http://www.amcanflags.com/terminology.aspx
- The pulley mechanism atop the pole that guides the halyard as the flag is being raised or lowered.


Technically speaking, the finial is the tippety tippiest, mostest toppety top part of the pole itself, technically speaking ...

 

[Aurantica]

Uh, no-oo ...

From Wikipedia:
The pole is usually topped by a flat plate or ball called a "truck" (originally meant to keep a wooden pole from splitting) or a finial in a more complex shape.

 

[NippleMuncher]

From Wikipedia:
The pole is usually topped by a flat plate or ball called a "truck" (originally meant to keep a wooden pole from splitting) or a finial in a more complex shape.

There you have it ... Wikipedia ...

No offense, but you can't trust anything you read on Wikipedia as being accurate. And, in going back to the OP's question:

up on the tip of a flagpole? It's usually a gold ball, or (in the USA) a gold eagle. Is there a name for it?

They are, indeed, referring to a finial and not a post cap or truck.

 

[Leotard]

I would have just called it a knob, ha

 

[SlickTony]

Before I saw all the answers, I guessed that you'd call it a finial, as it roughly corresponds to the finials on the end of a curtain rod.