Wotsit

See also: wotsit

English

Etymology

From wotsit, a variant of whatsit.^[1]

Noun

Wotsit (plural Wotsits)

A cheese-flavoured corn puff of the British brand Wotsits.
- 2015, Jonathan Harvey, “Natalie”, in The Secrets We Keep, London: Pan Books, →ISBN, page 47:
  Lucy rolls her eyes as she chews the life out of a Wotsit.
- 2016, Amy Liptrot, “Rose Cottage”, in The Outrun, Edinburgh: Canongate Books, published 2024, →ISBN:
  Papay is a long, thin island. In map form, it looks a bit like a Wotsit, or an old man with a walking-stick, vomiting.
- 2017, Charlotte Crosby, “March 2016”, in Brand New Me, London: Headline Publishing Group, →ISBN, page 89:
  He put a picture up of him and this girl and I can tell it’s his girlfriend by the comments. Then I saw another one of them out for a meal and I started looking at hers and I saw LOADS of pictures of Mitch on there. She’s very orange though. She looks like a Wotsit with hair. But she’s not ugly, and I think that’s what hurts the most.
- 2018, Beth Garrod, chapter 28, in Access All Awkward (Awkward; 3), London: Scholastic Children’s Books, →ISBN:
  “Guess I owe you a thanks then?” / “One of these will do.” She plucked a Wotsit out. “So what’s your plan. Other than emergency crisps.” She knew me too well.
- 2018, Julia Golding with Andrew Briggs and Roger Wagner, “Testing Boyle’s Law – ‘Gas Pressure Increases, Volume Decreases’”, in Hunt with Newton: What Are the Secrets of the Universe? (The Curious Science Quest), Oxford, Oxfordshire: Lion Hudson, →ISBN:
  Repeat the experiment with a marshmallow and a Wotsit.
- 2019, “Is your cat smarter than Donald Trump?”, in Poo or False? A Completely Crappy Quiz Book, London: Headline Publishing Group, →ISBN, page 129:
  You know Donald Trump, right? Wobbly orange trumpet on legs? The answer to the question: ‘What would the offspring of a Wotsit and a dolphin look like?’ Yeah, that guy. Well, he also happens to be the 45th President of the United States of America.
- 2023, Hywel Roberts, “Introduction”, in Botheredness: Stories, Stance, Pedagogy, Bancyfelin, Carmarthenshire: Independent Thinking Press, →ISBN, footnote 3:
  Wheat Crunchies are a brilliant food that bridges the texture gap between a Wotsit and a bog-standard crisp.
- 2023, L.M. Chilton [pseudonym; Luke Chilton], chapter 12, in Don’t Swipe Right, London: Head of Zeus, →ISBN:
  As I crunched on a baked goat’s cheese and caramelised onion veg chip, I silently cursed myself for only stocking the posh hand-cooked ones. Deep inside, my heart longed for the sweet, dusty orange delight of a Wotsit.

References

^ Brianna York (2023 June 22) “Wotsits”, in Snack History‎^[1], archived from the original on 2024-04-20: “Golden Wonder named these cheesy little puffed snacks ‘Wotsits’ because this was a play on the word ‘Whatsit’.”

[1] Brianna York (2023 June 22) “Wotsits”, in Snack History‎^[1], archived from the original on 2024-04-20: “Golden Wonder named these cheesy little puffed snacks ‘Wotsits’ because this was a play on the word ‘Whatsit’.”

[1]