Mr Mojo Risin.

I write this without intending to sound like I have some sort of door fetish, despite returning to the topic of portals again so soon.

Today I discovered a gap in my education as I was trying to respond to a question asked by brother Abu Something (although I think it would read slightly less ominously as Abu Someone) in the last post’s comment section.

I found myself totally unable to think of the name given to this part of a door:

I realised my ignorance when I tried to articulate that this particular “bit” of the door doesn’t retract when the handle (as featured in the film clip) is turned anti-clockwise, whilst it will happily do so when turned clockwise. I sat there for some time struggling to find the appropriate term for this part of the door’s mechanism.

Having little success through my own introspection, I opted to throw it out to my work colleagues as a spot quiz and much to my surprise, I found they were similarly unable to furnish its name.

One person I asked responded “Uh… I’m not sure, but that bit *points* – is a handle.”

Yeah, thanks for that, but I kinda grasped that particular phrase at an early age.

Other suggestions offered by colleagues included “the mechanism, the barrel, the sneck, the latch” and my personal favourite was “a door tongue.”

So, dissatisfied with the responses I’d received, I instructed one of my staff to look out for, and stop, any member of the public who walked past my office and looked like they may be a “builder.” In order to ask them their “professional” opinion on the device’s name. It wasn’t too long before one such stop-ee offered “I think it’s a catch.” “Ahh!” came the reply.

However, some hours have passed since this information reached me and I’m starting to feel a little uneasy with this answer. I think it’s just a bit too general and encompassing of other objects in life. I really feel that it should/might have a more specific, unique and technical name; perhaps one only known to door specialists.

Something like a “Lankin”, “Stootle” or “Fizgwat”.

So with that in mind I’d like to put my quest out to a wider audience and would ask that if there is anyone here who knows this device by another name, then please step forward and put my mind at ease.