My niece called me "Heyman".
this post was submitted on 03 Nov 2025
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My dad picked up calling my mom arbradear, because thats what I used to call her, when I was first learning to talk, because whenever he came home, he'd call out "Barbara dear, im home!"
Nice shot!
I mean... there are much, much worse nicknames than Cheese.
Richard Cheese
omg I can't believe it took until seeing this to realize what his name meant. I've known about him for decades.
Exactly, that's much worse, lol.
When I was growing up my father had a wooden mallet he'd made himself. He still has it now, but he had it then too.
It was called a "dongy knocker".
The thing is, there's contradictory stories for why it was called that. On the one hand when I looked it up, it seems like it's an obscure antipodean term. My father was in rural New Zealand in the '70s and may well have picked it up the term over there. This is reinforced by the name of a weapon in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, the Bommy Knocker, and threads like this.
However it's also possible I named it, according to a book someone published about working for my father (in the anecdote someone had damaged the fabled mallet and was rather worried about what they'd done!). I'm not worried about doxing myself - I've been using this username since 2002 and have clothes with it on. It's not a secret who I am.
It could be coincidence, but there's an antiquated term for a mace or morningstar, bommyknocker. People on the web seem to attribute it to a children's book from the 90s, but I've found much older uses in the past, both in the UK and in Oceania. Similar to your name and not a very dissimilar tool.
Edit: I guess it's obvious I skimmed your answer! You've already made the connection.
I'm from Australia. When I was a kid my mum used to call those inflatable baseball bats and inflatable hammers "tommy knockers", and weirdly my dad called big boobs "tommy knockers". I'm sure that and bomby knocker and dongy knocker are all derived from the same root colloquialism.
Late last night and the night before...
You could have been using DongyKnocker this whole time!
When I was a kid and someone asked me "what's up?" I would, as a smug little snot, say "a direction, similar to but diametrically opposed from down."
TIL there was a better way to say that.
Could have been worse - they could have called him G.
I have a mentally handicapped niece. Once for her birthday my parents bought her a plushie in the form of a giraffe. I was the one that got to give it to her.
To this day (35 years on) when we visit her she calls me 'giraffe' very enthusiastically.
It's a nickname I wear with pride.
I bet the guy in Nam would be thrilled to hear that he'd get a silly nickname from his grandchild.
See, that's what I don't get about this. First, I question its veracity; however, I would love if my kid (I don't yet have grandkids) came up with and stuck with a cute nickname for me. With a few exceptions, I don't care what anyone calls me so long as I can recognize that they're addressing me; and if someone comes up with a non malicious nickname for me, it's an indicator of a lasting and likely affectionate relationship.
I'm toynbee, but if you want to call me cheese, that's cool with me.
But...did he kill fitty men?!?!
Or get his shins blowed off?
Or kept one rat alive, so he could eat his droppings and called it jungle rice?
Yes I've had a Hanoi Hummer
In Vietnam? No way!
He was in the US military and now has the nickname 'Cheese' from his grandchild to be known by instead of the mentally abortive attempt his squad gave him?
Dude, take the win and don't complain. There's definitely worse things to be known as.
The things I read about Vietnam make me think twice about any Viet vet. Atrocities were committed under the name of war. Nonetheless, individual humans carried out these acts.
My grandad has PTSD from Vietnam. The Vietnamese didn't give it to him.
Good nickname. Cheese is awesome!
I wish I had a nickname as cool as cheese. They just don't stick
Cool nickname 😎👍
My neighbour is called Cheese. It's because he's a miserable sod so his mates called him that, as in "cheese, smile for the camera"
That’s how my little sister got her nickname. They’d say her name as “baby _____” and I couldn’t say baby so it was just “b _____” and she’s been “B” ever since. Her name doesn’t have a B in it.
More like the Saigon hoor that bit off his nose called him cheese dick.