All the quality time we spend with our family and closest friends leads to the development of familect — a secret language of made-up words and inside jokes that only the inner circle understands.

• Readers all over the country sent us hilarious and poignant examples of words and phrases that are part of their family's language.

💡 Why it matters: It's not just silly words — shared language is part of what defines our closest bonds.

• John R., a Finish Liner from Chicago, puts it best. "My wife died 7 years ago, after 25 years of marriage. We had a very rich familect after all that time together. So much of our intimate history together was tied up in a word, one or a few syllables."
• "And now I have no one to share it with. That's an unspoken (literally) aspect of grieving her loss."

Here are some examples of familect:

🍦 "When our daughter was young, we spelled the words "ice cream" when talking about dessert in front of her.  One day she asked for "P-N-R-K," and we have referred to ice cream as P-N-R-K ever since." —Julie L., Houston

🏠 "After my parents' divorce earlier this year, my younger brother coined the term 'Team What's Left' to describe the family members remaining in the house after my mother packed up and left."

• "Through all the pain, hardship and difficulty of the current situation, this phrase has really begun our new familect for those of us who remain as we start our new life without her." —Trevor P., Algonquin, Ill.

🎄 "My son was just learning to talk around Christmas. He kept pointing at the Christmas lights and would very excitedly yell out, 'Froo froo!' Since that time, Christmas lights are froo froos. Even my friends call them froo froos." —Shelley S., Springdale, Ark.

🧓🏼 "We referred to our grandparents as Gross. 'Love you, Gross' … from the German grossmuter and grossvater from our grandparents’ home in Germany." —Ron H., Chicago

🐦 "In our familect, hoodies are known as 'tweeties' because the first hoodies our girls ever wore had Tweety Bird on them. —Harry G.. Boston

🦃 "'Happy Thanksgiving' is our family signal. It came about when one child left a bad marriage with two kids under 3 on T-Day weekend. We all gathered from across the country.

• "The one in stress, in tears, raised a glass and said, 'Happy Thanksgiving.' Obviously, not happy but grateful for family. We still use it for any meaningful thing that happens, happy or sad. It's a strong bond." —Deborah B., Tryon, N.C.

What's next: We have dozens more pieces of familect to share — and we'll keep this series going periodically. Keep sending your family sayings to [email protected] — including your name and hometown!

"'Dreams' from the Allman Brothers Band's eponymous first album is one of my most favorite songs," reader Dave E. from Beverly, Mass., writes.

• "The song carried me through challenging times in the wake of my brother's catastrophic accident. As I entered young adulthood, and sought to understand myself, the song gave me respite."

🎧 Listen.