As promised, here are the final 15 of the “30 Hilarious Words for Everyday Problems.” Now, I’m going to go get some breakfast because I think my borborygmas is annoying workmates. Happy Thursday, everyone!
- Lalochezia: When you stub your foot or accidentally hit a finger while hammering a nail, your first impulse might be to curse. And that cursing bring a rush of relief. That emotional relief is called lalochezia.
EXAMPLE: “It hurt a little at first, but the lalochezia made it better.”
- Cockalorum: A tiny man who has grossly overestimated his importance or intelligence. It originated from the Dutch dialect kockeloeren, meaning "to crow like a rooster," because roosters apparently have a bloated sense of self-esteem.
EXAMPLE: "I just stop listening whenever that cockalorum starts bragging."
- Clinomania: A word with Greek origins—clino for bed and mania for obsession—it’s that uncontrollable feeling you get some mornings when you’d rather just stay in bed all day.
EXAMPLE: “I know I should go to the office. But it feels like a clinomania kind of day.”
- Smicker: When you see someone so attractive that you can’t take your eyes off of them, and you know that staring is creepy but you can’t help yourself, you’re smickering at them. This word has been around since at t least the 17th century, and possibly much earlier, and comes to us courtesy of Scotland.
EXAMPLE: “My girlfriend caught me smickering a girl, so now I’m in the doghouse.”
- Borborygmus: When your stomach is rumbling, either from lack of food or too much digestion. It’s derived from the Greek word borboryzein, which means “to rumble.”
EXAMPLE: “I guess somebody’s hungry. I can hear your gut borborygmus from here.”
- Frisson: Being terrified, but in a pleasurable way. When you’re at a scary movie and jump when a guy with an axe jumps does something horrible, or you’re on a rollercoaster and the hairs on your arm stand at attention as you slowly click-click-clicks up the track, you’re feeling the rush of frisson.
EXAMPLE: “I totally scared myself to death at Six Flags. I was feeling that frisson all day.”
- Nikhedonia: The rush of excitement when you realize your team is going to win. There’s still time left on the clock, but there’s no way they can blow it now.
EXAMPLE: “No way, man, it’s over. Your boys are done! The game is over! Oh my gosh, I’ve got such crazy nikhedonia right now!”
- Nipcheese: A cheap person. The guy who never picks up the bill or offers to pay for lunch this time. The word originates from 18th-century seafaring, given to a ship’s purser who keeps more for himself than he gives to the rest of the ship’s crew.
EXAMPLE: “We better split this three ways. Glenn is too much of a nipcheese to chip in.”
- Fudgel: It sure does look like you’re working at your computer, but you’re probably just playing solitaire on your computer.
EXAMPLE: “Of course he didn’t meet his deadline. All he does all day is fudgel.”
- Forswunke: That bone-tired feeling after a long day of chores or busy-work. Unless you’ve been fudgelling at the computer all day, in which case you’re a forswunke liar.
EXAMPLE: “I’m so tired, I can’t lift a finger. I’m forswunke!”
- Sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia: The scientific term for an ice cream headache. What, did you think that temporary pain in your sphenopalatine ganglion wouldn’t have a medical name?
EXAMPLE: “Ow, ow, ow! I ate that tutti frutti way too fast and now I’ve got a case of sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia!!”
- Coverslut: Not at all what you think it means. This Middle English word from the 13th century comes from “cover” (to conceal) and “slut” (an untidy woman.) It’s the piece of clothing you wear to go outside when you don’t feel like changing out of your shabby or unclean clothes.
EXAMPLE: “I’d love to go to breakfast, but I’d rather stay in pajamas. I’ll just throw on this coverslut and nobody will notice.”
- Fard: An old English word for putting on makeup. Don’t say it too fast or they might think you’re accusing them of something else.
EXAMPLE: “No, no, I say you’re farding. Far-ding. As in putting on makeup. Why, what did you think I meant?”
- Quafftide: If it’s “beer-thirty,” then it’s officially quafftide time. It’s a goofy word for indicating that happy hour is upon us and the time for drinking to excess had arrived. First used in a book from 1582 to describe the Roman festival Bacchanalia.
EXAMPLE: “Sure, let’s get another round. It’s quafftide ”
- Sonntagsleerung: It’s Sunday and you really, really don’t want to go to work tomorrow. That heavy, sad feeling that all fun things will be ending soon is called sonntagsleerung, This word originated in Germany, which makes perfect sense. Who better to create a word for having a vague sense of dread about tomorrow?
EXAMPLE: “Ugh, is it Sunday already? No wonder I feel so much sonntagsleerung.”
Donna Bradley Burcher | Senior Technical Editor | Symitar®
8985 Balboa Ave. | San Diego, CA 92123 | Ph. 619.278.0432 | Ext: 765432
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