What is THAT word (or phrase)?

Is there a short phrase or word that describes...

[ScottM]

We are trying to set up a section of our website that describes a service...and we can't think of a single word (or very short phrase) that adequately describes that service.

We want to offer a service that is similar to 'reverse engineering', but without the actual physical part.

Imagine if someone comes to you with a bicycle withOUT a chain. They want the bike to move/work...so we "invent" a chain.

Or maybe they bring an plastic chemical tank in and they want us to make a 'bracket and frame' that will allow the plastic tank to be mounted in a pick-up bed and then, after unloading, able to be rolled around easily.

I hope this explains the idea?

For some reason we can't think of a simple word or phrase that we can use on the site to promote this service.

Any ideas?

(Yes...I understand the irony of the post. :))

[henry0]

retro has a "has been" connotation as it also means
"things from the past" in a way suggesting not "from yesterday" but more like "many moons before yesterdays!"

[rocker]

retro has a "has been" connotation as it also means
"things from the past" in a way suggesting not "from yesterday" but more like "many moons before yesterdays!"

Retro and retrofit do not have the same meaning.

ret·ro·fit/;retrô & ;fit/

Verb: Add (a component or accessory) to something that did not have it when manufactured.

Noun: An act of adding a component or accessory to something that did not have it when manufactured.

ret·ro/;retrô/

Adjective: Imitative of a style, fashion, or design from the recent past: "retro 60s fashions".

Noun: Clothes or music whose style or design is imitative of those of the recent past.

ScottM and rocker - how about "retrofiX" - it's probably even brandable - catching the retrofit sense and the fixing stuff sense.

I like it! Of course, it is up to ScottM :)

[lucy24]

The drawback to "custom-made" "after market" and that whole range of words is that it doesn't fully do justice to what you're doing. As I understand it, you're not simply matching existing parts, where "existing" can mean "We know what it is but we can't find one". You're figuring out what the part is-- and then building one from scratch.

[henry0]

@rocker, it is not about grammatically correct, it's all about "sound" if a strong term may, one way or another, "even unintentionally", catch your hear in a way that could lead to misinterpretation then choose another term.

retrofit is a 1954 word that borrowed "retro" from the 1611 word retroactive where retro has "back" meaning.

[lucy24]

retro- may not be the single most widely used Latin prefix, compared to things like "sub-" or "in-" (both of them) or "post-", but there's no need to trace its use back to any one established English word.

"retro" as a free-standing word is definitely colloquial-bordering-on-slang, so you never know who will be affected by it and how. Or whether the word will outlive your business or vice versa.

Meanwhile, some hearers/readers will throw fits about "retrofit" because it splices a Latin prefix onto an English word ;)

[henry0]

Interesting, so this thread took a turn for worst!
Erudition highjacked it:)

[lucy24]

Well, since the underlying issue is about making round pegs for round holes and square pegs for square holes, the thread could have turned in much worse directions.

:: snrk ::

[Leosghost]

Double your :: snrk :: and raise you a ::snicker:: ..

[henry0]

AGRHH,
since FR was my mother tongue what is a SNKR ?

[SevenCubed]

...the thread could have turned in much worse directions.

There's still time, this is foo afterall.

[Leosghost]

Some Not Known Reference..:)


Pour toi H..

Snrk ( note the order of the letters ..SNRK )..A cross between an "expression".. "visage" ( not "language" ).. maline/malicieuse..and ironic smirk ..the kind of expression that François Mitterrand wore a great deal...:)

[commanderW]

jury-rigging ?
[en.wikipedia.org ]

Example: I once bought a used car, and as i was driving it from the lot, a part fell off. They put it up on a lift to fix it, and I saw that, in addition, where the leaf springs had been, there were slats of wood. 2x4's, in fact.

of course, you intend to do a much better job, I'm sure :)

[ScottM]

You're figuring out what the part is-- and then building one from scratch.

Yes, Lucy24.

Another example of what we do is real-life (as told to me years ago).

Our area of the country is very cold.

Decades ago, a man came to our shop and had some rough ideas about a product that would 'preheat' the coolant (in an automobile) in cold weather so it would start easier. (It is my understanding the rough ideas were just that...VERY rough...something like: "make something that would preheat the engine coolant".)

Our shop took the rough ideas and made a working prototype. It was a very clever design and we got paid for the work we did.

He did a very good job of marketing it, though:

[en.wikipedia.org...]

[vik_c]

A juxtaposition of two words would be promising. As a bonus you can also probably register a one word domain.