From Fauna Britannica, some vernacular names for the Great tit (Parus major): Big ox-eye (Angus); black-capped lolly (West Yorkshire); Black-headed Bob (Devon); Joe Ben (Suffolk); Joe Bent (Gloucestershire); Sawfinch & Saw sharpener (Roxburghshire); Sharp saw (Norfolk), and many more.

Author Buczacki explains that ‘the names “Joe Ben” and “Joe Bent” are probably onomatopoeic of the bisyllabic call; “saw sharpener” and other “saw” references are similarly descriptive of the call.’ Many birders describe the call as ‘teacher, teacher’ – I guess we all have our own ways of remembering the calls of birds.