来自苏格兰语hootenanny,庆祝,聚会。其本身可能为无意义杜撰词,或来自hoot nanny.该词现也用于指叫不出名字的物件名。比较thingamajig,whatchamacallit.
Another device used by the professional car thief, and one recently developed to perfection, according to a large Chicago lock-testing laboratory, is a "hootenanny," so-called by the criminals using it. ["Popular Mechanics," February 1931]