This is the first post I started to write without a word in mind. It had to be about the coronavirus and COVID-19, of course — the situation is so overwhelmingly pervasive that this post started writing itself in my mind without even waiting for a word to come along. So I went ahead and …
Category: Words about People
Tsundoku
"It's not hoarding if it's books," a popular Internet saying proclaims. I, for one, heartily agree — but maybe I'm biased. I was raised by book lovers; books have been part of my life (and my home) for as long as I can remember. In my childhood homes, they piled up every which where: packed …
Taivaanrannanmaalari
Alice laughed. "There's no use trying," she said: "one can't believe impossible things." "I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." I've referenced the White Queen's quote from …
Koev Halev
The capacity for empathy is perhaps one of the most remarkable traits of humanity. The ability not only to recognize another's feelings, but to adopt them as our own requires an astounding level of emotional intelligence, yet incredibly, having this ability is considered a cornerstone in the foundation of what makes a decent, normal, functional …
Merak
Happiness is underrated. It's a feeling everyone enjoys, certainly, and one that we are wont to spend our lives pursuing — but not one that we often think much of when we have it, especially when it's triggered by something small in the fleeting moments that we know will quickly pass, as if we're afraid …
Aufbruchstimmung
Moving is something of a phenomenon. It’s not just something you do — it’s a state of mind and a state of being. You find yourself physically and mentally caught between two phases of your life, living neither completely here nor completely there, looking back and at the same time forward. There are a lot …
Duende
As much as I love words, I hold enormous respect for what can be achieved without them. While they are certainly useful tools, they aren't always necessary to communicate effectively — and sometimes they're not necessary at all. Not everything can be captured in words. Some things just have to be felt, to be known …
Tarab
All cultures on Earth have some form of music. Even cultures with no connection to any other group of people, virtually untouched by the modern world and independent of outside influence, have music. It has been present, as far as we can tell, throughout all of human history: some of the oldest pieces of writing …
Hygge
When I first learned about the fire at the Notre Dame cathedral on Monday, my word for the week had already been chosen and this post partially written. As the news updates about the incident began pouring in, I considered choosing different word, a French one that could somehow capture all the feelings surrounding the …
Nesh
I don't know about anyone else, but for me being cold is just a fact of life. I'm partly convinced that I may be the first cold-blooded human ever to be born. A breeze on an otherwise warm day is enough to make me shiver and wish I'd brought a jacket. I have the practice …