A peg word is a word you consciously remember to help remember things in the future.
This will get confusing, but bear with me. There's a system called pseudonumerology where you associate letters to different numbers.
0 = s,z
1 = t,d
2 = n
3 = m
4 = r
5 = l
6 = j, ch-sound
7 = k, hard "c" sound
8 = f
9 = p
Using these letters you make peg words, like:
1 = t and d, so a peg word might be "toe"
2 = n, so a peg word might be "know"
3 = m, so a peg word might be "May"
In any case, if you're remembering a list in a specific order like this:
Mary
John
Mike
You can use the peg words to help create unusual situations to help you remember the order. For example:
Mary with a big painful throbbing sore "Toe"
John holding lots of encyclopedias, because he "knows" a lot"
Mike might be on a float with the big words "May Day" on it.
This seems silly for a list of three things, but on a longer list, it makes more sense. It's not necessarily the only use of peg words, but it's an example. Using the pseudonumerology system, I was able to memorize 1,000 digits of pi in two lazy afternoons.
Yes, it takes a little while to learn peg words, but it does pay off afterwards (in a "you can remember certain lists of things better" kind of way, anyway...you'd be surprised how little this matters, though I have been able to memorize SKU numbers for cashier work and phone numbers pretty easily).
For a taste of pseudonumerology, go to: http://www.pseudonumerology.com
Some people don't dig it, but I like it just fine. This is also a good site: http://www.premiumhealth.com/memory/
Mnemonics can be an interesting hobby, and isn't too bad of a thing to learn. I notice that when I use mnemonics to help memorize names (something I'm REALLY bad at) I will always remember, whereas if I don't, I'll forget it in a couple hours.
-Ramon http://razor.ramon.com