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Top Comments: There's A Word For That Edition [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2023-08-14  

In my Top Comments diary last Monday, gizmo mentioned an Arabic word that has no direct English translation:

Soubhiyé refers to that period of time in the morning when no one else is awake but you

I haven’t been able to get out of my head all week the lovely happenstance when a single word in a different language expresses a concept for which no single word exists in your own (in my case, English). I believe many of us are familiar with the Danish concept of hygge, which burst onto the American scene in 2016 but whose feelings of coziness, wellbeing and soup while wearing fuzzy slippers helped get us through the pandemic.

So I went looking for other similar words (thank you Merriam-Webster.com, mentalfloss.com and theintrepidguide.com, among others) and tonight’s Top Comments diary is the result. Disclaimer: I speak English, and some fairly amateur German. I know a little bit of ASL, and can order food in several other languages. If I totally screw up your current or ancestral languages, I apologize in advance!

Let’s see what I found:

- Verschlimmbessern — (German) — Trying to make something better but instead making it worse. A fusion of the words for “to make something better” and “to make something worse”. I feel like this describes many corporate decisions. - Boketto — (Japanese) — Gazing vacantly into the distance without really thinking about anything specific. Not daydreaming, just… gazing. Mental rest break. - Aspaldiko — (Basque) — The euphoria and happiness felt when catching up with someone you haven’t seen in a long time. I’m so glad to have a word for this! - Shemomedjam — (Georgian) — To eat something because it’s so delicious, even though you’re not hungry and maybe even full. Creme Brulee, I’m looking at you right now. - Kummerspeck — (German) — That excess weight gained from emotional/stress overeating. Literally translated, it means Grief Bacon. Although it could also be Ice Cream? Ndo — (Igbo) — Sorry, but of an empathy not guilty type. Think ‘I’m sorry for your loss’ as opposed to ‘sorry I hit your car’. Cavoli riscaldati — (Italian) — attempt to make a doomed relationship work, restart a failed relationship, or pass off something old as new. Literally translated, it means ‘reheated cabbage’. Yum?

What words do YOU know to add to our list? Please peruse tonight’s Tops then share in the comments!

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/8/14/2187144/-Top-Comments-There-s-A-Word-For-That-Edition

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