What do you do? Do you struggle till you remember it? Substitute another word? Say What evah? Wait till you remember it tomorrow when you no longer need it? Fret that you are getting alzeimer's?... I was talking to a woman who had a picture with a dog in it at her rummage sale. It looked like our last dog. Could I remember her name? No. When I was leaving, I called out 'Emma!' Lady looked at me, sort of surprised. That was the dog's name! She smiled as she realized there was actually a point to my saying something so abruptly.
I go out to where Dear Bobby is relaxing on the front porch , and I ask him, something like “ What is the name of that long, pointy thing that sticks in wood ? “ He sometimes says that he knows just what I mean, but can’t remember what it is called, either. A half hour later, one of us yells “ NAIL !” ,and we declare that person the winner of that round of the Lost Word Game.
Marie told me today when I was standing in front of the pantry, hand me a can of chicken noodle soap out of there will you, I just went along and smiled, then I said sure, one can of chicken noodle soap coming up, she just laughed.
I say to myself another word that is somehow connected to the word I'm looking. Like if the word is "Nail" , I'll think hammer. That usually makes the other word came to mind.
I keep a Thesaurus on my desk and I still am unable to get the right word at times. So I'll use a less eyecatching one.
I can recall obscure words when doing crossword puzzles, but it's recalling them in the context of the moment where I sometimes struggle. I think it's mostly the lack of mental variety/exercise is used to get from working and interacting with a lot of people. I don't converse (in the two-way sense of the word) as much as I used to.
If I'm unsure how to spell a word, I use one that means the same thing, that I can spell. Sometimes spellcheck helps but sometimes I cornfuse it, too.
I do all of the above but mostly I struggle to think of the word I want to use. When I can't think of it I quickly change the conversation until I do sometimes leaving the person I'm talking to hanging on a cliff .
This morning one daughter said her hubby had success with 'dry needling'. Still am not sure what that is. But I went to a..... A woman who used needles on meridians on the body... a.... Could not remember the word accupuncturist till i came to SOC just now.
Thank goodness I'm not the only one with this problem. I was getting worried. Just today I was wondering if the word I was using was the one I needed.