Words You Have Taught Me — July 2020
#16 — a “is this still the first wave, cause I’m SO ready for wave two” listicle
Continuing the compilation that began in the terminal months of 2017, and somewhere along the line became a tradition.
As always, there are a mix of English and non-English terms, in this edition featuring Hindi, Yiddish, Kannada, French, German, Turkish, Hawaiian, as well as slang familiar to Irish, Scottish and Aussie natives.
Here is the latest in literary lingo, journalist jargon, author’s argot and pencil pusher pidgin that I soaked up here since the last time we did this …
aarthi
(Hindi) a Hindu religious ritual of worship, a part of puja (which we covered in an earlier WYHTM), in which light (usually from a flame) is offered to one or more deities
from Indira Reddy
bathos
(especially in a work of literature) an effect of anticlimax created by an unintentional lapse in mood from the sublime to the trivial or ridiculous
from James Khan
“the Big Smoke”
(slang) somewhat cynical term for a large city, especially London — primarily heard in Ireland
from Selene Bey
bubbaleh
(Yiddish) term of endearment, “sweetie, darling”
from Ash Jurberg
corcupiscence
strong sexual desire; lust
from Riku Arikiri
deshabillé
(French) the state of wearing no clothes or very few clothes
from Praveen Jagwani
dross
something regarded as worthless; rubbish
from Indira Reddy
Ho’oponopono
(Hawaiian) can be translated as “correct a mistake” or “make it right” — the Hawaiian practice of reconciliation and forgiveness
from Mary Holden
hurdy-gurdy
a musical instrument with a droning sound played by turning a handle, which is typically attached to a rosined wheel sounding a series of drone strings, with keys worked by the left hand
from Erica N
ignescent
emitting sparks of fire when struck with steel; scintillating; the stone that emits such sparks when struck
from Farida Haque
İpek
This is a feminine given name, which means silk in Turkish. I include it here because I had never come across it before Stephen M. Tomic’s story:
kipper tie
type of necktie primarily fashionable in Britain in the mid-1960s to late 1970s; the primary characteristics are extreme breadth and often garish colours and patterns
from Laura Sheridan
Kummerspeck
(German) literally “sadness bacon”, the love handles you may put on, say, after a breakup
from Kahli Bree Adams
maquillage
(French) makeup
I found this handsome synonym for makeup while composing the below:
maumy, mizzle, yowe-tremmle
weather-related terms from Emily Morgan
maumy — ‘insipid’ weather, mild and humid
mizzle — drizzle
yowe-tremmle — A Scots word for a spell of cold weather in early spring that would make the freshly shorn sheep (ewes, or yowes) shiver with cold (tremmle)
Naga Sampige tree
(Kannada, a Southern Indian language spoken primarily in the state of Karnataka) a tree found in Asia, from Sri Lanka to Nepal and all the way to the Philippines and Indonesia; Mesua ferrea, also known as the Ceylon ironwood, Indian rose chestnut, or cobra saffron
Anu Anniah spun up a remarkable poem describing her first encounter with these trees and their alien-looking seeds:
Precariat
people whose employment and income are insecure, especially when considered as a class; a portmanteau formed by merging precarious + proletariat
from Peter Flom
prolix
(of speech or writing) using or containing too many words; tedious, drawn out
from Tom Gregg
ropeable
(slang, Aus./NZ) angry to the point of needing to be restrained from violent action
from Matt Querzoli
rucking
a variation of exercise walking, wearing a rucksack as you might on a nature hike, but in an urban setting
from Roz Warren
the Sea Dragon
per Justin Cox, this was a “rocket, designed by NASA in 1962 but never built […] far larger than the Saturn-V and designed to be launched from the ocean”
sonra
(Hindi) after, later
from Shringi Kumari
thirst-trap
it’s an online flirting / sex thing, read more Tara Blair Ball
Voxeurop
a pan-European news hub whose mission is to keep Europeans informed about transnational issues that impact upon their lives, Voxeurop publishes every one of their articles in a range of European languages
from William Sidnam
Thanks for your continual patronage!
Here are all previous installments of #WYHTM:
