Overmorrow refers to the day after tomorrow and I feel like it comes in quite handy for example.

  • ℕ𝕖𝕞𝕠
    link
    fedilink
    1023 months ago

    perambulation is a good one. My morning walk isn’t quite grand enough to be called a ‘constitutional’; nor scenic and leisurely enough to be called a ‘stroll’; nor yet social enough to be called a ‘promenade’; ‘perambulation’ is just the ticket.

    • @Phoonzang@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      43 months ago

      And a “perambulator” is a kid stroller. It was an enlightening moment when I first came across that word in Neil Stephenson’s “Seveneves”, delved into its etymology and then realised why my British friend called the stroller a “pram”. This is just a contracted form of perambulator.

      It did not occur to me that there’s actually also a verb for it, so thank you for pointing that out! I love it, and I will use it henceforth!

  • Kushan
    link
    fedilink
    English
    903 months ago

    Interrobang.

    It’s this thing: ‽

    More people should use the symbol because it looks cool and has a badass name, so for that you need to know what it’s called.

    Who’s with me‽

    • DrSleepless
      link
      fedilink
      English
      643 months ago

      Interrobang sounds like something from a porno about police work.

      “Did you question the suspect?”

      “Yeah, Chief, we interrobanged him and got the info.”

      • Thassodar
        link
        fedilink
        English
        133 months ago

        Hey, it’s me, your suspect. I’ve got more info, step it up with the interrobanging, will ya?

      • lattrommi
        link
        fedilink
        English
        73 months ago

        Questioning a bang.

        My quick and dirty interrobang with her revealed to me how empty inside I was, unlike the outhouse we were in.

      • @curbstickle@lemmy.dbzer0.com
        link
        fedilink
        33 months ago

        Or a fully themed, punctuation inspire flick. Named “character” to let you fill in the blanks.

        Char 1: Well what do you think Mark?

        Char 2: Are you sure she can handle it, Point?

        Char 1: Its time we’ve shown

        Char 2: our true power…

        Together: As Interrobang!

        Char 3: No wait, I’ve got my per…

        … OK it needs to be reworked, but you get the idea.

        • Bob
          link
          fedilink
          33 months ago

          Is it still pornographic? “Detective, dash over here and interpunct my colon”, “don’t full stop, I’m about to comma”, etc, etc.

    • moonlight
      link
      fedilink
      373 months ago

      While I like the concept, I can’t help but prefer ‘!?’ or ‘?!’. There’s more granularity of meaning, and I think it just looks nicer having two or more separate characters.

    • @alexc@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      213 months ago

      Only if you agree to stop calling them Hashtags and use their more-correct name of Octothorpes

    • Skua
      link
      fedilink
      63 months ago

      I made AltGr + / type an interrobang so I’d always have access to it

  • @Jordan117@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    763 months ago

    Petrichor: The smell of rain on dry ground. One of those things everybody knows about but lacks a word for.

      • @JimBeann@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        83 months ago

        Never saw this one before and not sure how to pronounce it while the German Vorgestern is as commen as Übermorgen.

        English on the other hand has fortnight which I think is very cool as we don’t have a special word for 14 days

        A little off topic but I find these words extremely interesting that have no direct translation as they often give a new perspective on things or concepts.

      • @schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.de
        link
        fedilink
        83 months ago

        Yes, I learned English here in Austria and I remember classmates asking the teacher how to say “vorgestern” and “übermorgen” in English.

        We didn’t learn the words “ereyesterday” and “overmorrow” that day, only “the day before yesterday” and “the day after tomorrow”. :(

    • CorrodedOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      173 months ago

      I actually dislike that term a lot.

      It’s like spunkgargleweewee. It seems immature and makes me feel more dismissive towards the argument. Maybe that also has to do with it being a catch all term and people seem less willing to give specific examples of how things are declining in quality.

    • @TrickDacy@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      4
      edit-2
      3 months ago

      Wait did you just coin that? That’s fucking brilliant /s

      Edit: apparently I needed a /s because Lemmy doesn’t use this term constantly or anything?

      • @finestnothing@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        93 months ago

        Because there was no /s - no they didn’t, it’s been around for a little while now. It basically means products or services slowly getting worse rather than better - such as adding ads, adding useless or broken ai to everything, switching to a subscription without adding any actual value. This is almost always done in the interest of maximizing profit as much as possible, at the expense of the users (monetarily and experience wise). Basically, see any major company decisions in the last several years, especially at companies with very large audiences (Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Airbnb, Facebook, etc)

        • @T0RB1T@lemmy.ca
          link
          fedilink
          73 months ago

          Since we’re talking about it, and I really like the guy’s work, I figured I should say who coined it! Author, Cory Doctorow! He has a blog where he (among all the other stuff he writes about) defined the word, and wrote several articles about it.

          pluralistic.net

  • @FruitLips@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    503 months ago

    Sonder (noun): the feeling one has on realizing that every other individual one sees has a life as full and real as one’s own, in which they are the central character and others, including oneself, have secondary or insignificant roles: In a state of sonder, each of us is at once a hero, a supporting cast member, and an extra in overlapping stories.

    dictionary.com

    • Skua
      link
      fedilink
      323 months ago

      This one always makes me smile, because it’s from the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. It’s just some guy’s blog in which he comes up with new words to express experiences and emotions that are difficult to describe, and that specific one has thoroughly broken containment

      • eightpix
        link
        fedilink
        63 months ago

        Bought the book. It’s the only dictionary I’ve enjoyed reading.

  • @TootSweet@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    363 months ago

    “Thrice” is a somewhat obscure word that otherwise fits.

    “Adventitious” is a good one. It means “non-inherent” or “acquired” (as opposed to inherent.)

  • @Toto@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    353 months ago

    Avuncular - of or having the qualities of an uncle.

    “His avuncular joke was both lazy and sexist”

  • 🔍🦘🛎
    link
    fedilink
    English
    343 months ago

    Gormless - Lacking initiative, foolish

    Copacetic - correct, orderly, good

  • themadcodger
    link
    fedilink
    323 months ago

    Borborygmus I use often enough, but it’s not widely known. It’s the gurgling sound produced by the movement of gas through your intestines.

    Limaceous I almost never use, but I enjoy it anyway. It means characteristic of or pertaining to slugs.

    And lastly, tawdry is one of my favorites meaning showy but cheap and poor quality.

    • @Zorg
      link
      93 months ago

      The are all great, but tawdry is fantastic!

      Rolls of the tongue, and we all come across several tawdry things/people in a given day.

    • Drusas
      link
      fedilink
      83 months ago

      I don’t think tawdry is archaic. A little uncommon, but still in use.

    • @Alice@beehaw.org
      link
      fedilink
      4
      edit-2
      3 months ago

      At least 20 years of having slugs as a special interest and I never heard the word limaceous?? Thank you for correcting this!

      Now to find out if it actually has specific academic usage and the biologists will execute me if I use it regarding slugs outside the superfamily Limacoidea.

  • Count Regal Inkwell
    link
    fedilink
    32
    edit-2
    3 months ago
    • Paramour

    It sounds fancy, but means a casual lover. A fuck buddy. A friend with benefits. Though it can also carry the implication of being an out-of-wedlock lover, as it dates back to a time where having a fuck buddy was almost certainly a sign of married infidelity.

    • Kith

    Means one’s friends and other people they are close to that aren’t family. Often paired with “kin”. Kith and kin. Friends and family.

    • @Iunnrais@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      143 months ago

      A paramour is an “other lover”. Para = beside, amour = love. It’s not a casual fuck buddy, it’s your cheating partner. I’m surprised to hear you say it’s unknown as a word these days? Seems like just a normal word to me, albeit one I’m happy to go without using as cheaters suck.

    • @Today@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      93 months ago

      I use paramour, usually to describe an infidelity situation. No one under 35 knows what it is.

    • @pepsison52895@lemmy.one
      link
      fedilink
      13 months ago

      Interesting. The only two references I’ve ever heard to Paramour are the band and the achievement in Mass Effect. I’m now wondering if the devs of that series knew exactly what it meant (infidelity) because you get the achievement for having any relationship. Maybe it’s because you can’t remain loyal to your original partner to get it in all three games with one playthrough.

  • @Mobiuthuselah@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    303 months ago

    Shemomedjamo - Georgian word meaning to eat past the point of fullness because it tastes so good or as I heard it, “I accidentally ate the whole thing.”