Mid January--can you feel it?
It's that unmistakable feeling that things are slipping through your fingers even though t i me i s s tand i n g s t i l llll. No? Just me?
Ok then.
So, let me take you to a place (in your memory) you may have been countless times in your life--I know I have.
Your telling someone--your best friend, significant other, parent, teacher or whatever--a story.
It's a great story, rife with vivid imagery, and catchy dialogue, and suspense, and all the hallmarks of a great story. And then, you get to the best part, the juiciest detail, the apex of this recount that is going to knock your listener right on his or her butt, and you are trying to describe this one moment
...and
...and...
you can't think of the word to do that moment justice.
You are literally stumped for a word and so you end up going with some lame synonym that pops into your head (probably from Bunje's damn SAT Vocab list) but you know that your story falls flat and sounds lame because that was SO not the word you wanted. Ever happen to you? Why, do you think?
Well, I have a theory. It's in its nascent stages, but a theory nonetheless. I have procured said theory by perusing ( a word that does not mean what many of you think it means, incidentally) The Global Language Monitor.
This site is dedicated to tracking trends in language, specifically the English language, and it is chock full of all kinds of fascinating facts about word etymologies, global trends, colloquialisms etc. It's really cool, especially if you're a geek like me (and many of you are--don't even try to front).
Anyway, it was while I was on this site today that my theory began to crystallize about why we, at the worst possible moments, are suddenly at a loss for words.
According to the GLM, English passed the 1,000,000 threshold on June 10, 2009 at 10:22 am. Know what the millionth word was?? "Octomom." Guess how many we have now?
1.737.215.7750
It's an pretty impressive number by any standard, especially when you consider that the French Language has fewer than 100,000 words total. The average human has approximately 14,000 words in his or her repertoire. Shakespeare had 24,000--1,700 of which he made up--floating around his brilliant brain.
Man, I love that guy.
So, all this to say..what? Well, even with all of those words zooming through the ether, the bottom line is there is sometimes no word to describe, define, pinpoint or whatever, the "undefinable." That's why we can't finish the story in the scenario I mentioned earlier.
Undefinable words usually fall into one of three categories:
feelings,
abstract concepts,
and
phenomena.
When I say feelings, I mean like, that sensation that washes over you the first warm day after a long, cold winter when you are driving in a car with all the windows down and radio tuned into your favorite song.
Or, the feeling you get when you just get your crush's phone number and you're staring at your cell phone, sweating, pacing, wondering if you should start to dial.
Occasionally, mixed in with feelings are some abstract concepts, like the idea of strength, character, courage etc.
And I know we have all experiences some weird phenomena-type occurrences that we write off as "coincidence" which is a catch-all word that doesn't really encapsulate the notion.
For example, when someone you know gets pregnant suddenly all you see are pregnant women or maternity stores or baby paraphernalia.
Or, when you buy a new car you begin to notice that there are 4 of that same car within a mile of your house.
(There's a psychological reason behind all that supposed "phenomena" but that's no fun, right? lol)
Anyhoo, all of these things I am talking about--and so many more--despite the much-vaunted number the GLM is broadcasting about the English Language, simply do not have a word that really captures the essence of their true meaning.
That is, until this blog.
Your task this week, Langers, is to put a word to those notions, concepts, feelings and/or phenomena.
So, first I want you to think of one of those moments--the feelings, concepts or phenomena that you personally have experienced.
Then, I would like you to talk about the "synonym" that would closely describe it, even though you know in your heart that synonym doesn't do it justice.
Then, in a whimsical fit of language acquisition, I want you to MAKE UP a word that would better describe what you're talking about. Hell, if Mary Poppins can do it, why can't we?
I'll go first.
So, the aforementioned sensation of driving in your car with the windows down on the first really warm day after a long winter--
synonym that kinda describes it but not really--"lightheartedness" ugh. Very boring.
The made-up version?? "summercipatation" which is a on-the-spot hybrid of summer and anticipation. Now--you go!
I based my brand new word off of a mixture of emotions I feel often. Those being anger, annoyance, alienated, and apathetic. Which all coincidentally begin with the letter A. Because of the nature of the words and its shared beginning of the letter "A", I created Anolpophobia. I took the first letter of each word, or the one after if they were the same, and then shoved them together to create the "Anolp" portion of my brand new word. "Phobia" comes for phobic, which is the fear of something which ties into the background of it. All of those emotions I feel in a day stem from the people I am surrounded by. So, to really do the justice of the emotions, I figured it would be nice to honor them with my word. So, Anolophobia, the fear of the things that will potentially come out of another's mouth. Its like arachnophobia, without the spiders. I feel it really does capture the emotions in one word,it almost makes me wish it were real.
ReplyDeleteTo capture so many feelings in one word is hard, no matter how close they all seem. Its the equivalent of how someone feels when they're really excited or super sad. The emotions jumble up and its hard to really capture them all. You have to be careful not to lose the meaning of one word or overshadow others. You must be mindful of all of its aspects, much like you must be mindful with a hysterical person. Say one wrong thing and the bucket could tip, so finding the balance is a must. Its why I think Anolophobia, though simple in its creation, really does get to the middle ground of all four words. Its the eye of the hurricane, the diamond in the rough, one of a kind. Indescribable and describable at the same time. Complicated too, if you haven't caught on. Sometimes perfection is as simple as beginning letters.
DeleteThis word is a combination of three negative feelings that have been tearing me apart lately. I have been experiencing the feeling of exhaust-stre-anger; exhaustion,stress, and anger. I knew that I was taking on a lot of responsibility this year, but I didn’t think that it would cause me to feel like I am losing myself...again. I have always always always been SO focused in school, I learned from a very young age that the hard work I put in my school work now will reflect on my future. There’s nothing more that I want than to be successful. I want to have a job that I enjoy doing, preferably in the medical field, I want to live in a city apartment that has big, giant windows that trap in the nature light giving me a perfect city view, I want to meet someone that I see potential in and start a family of my own, I want to raise my kids smothering them in happiness, I want to teach them about the lessons life has to offer, and guide them onto the path of success. I want to be happy… I don’t want to ever feel not good enough, I don’t want to feel alone, I don’t want to ever be stuck in any bad situations that I watched family members suffer through. Part of me truly believes that if I do good now that I can have all of that. If I put in the hard work throughout high school, college, and medical school then I can have that… I use my dreams as motivation to get me through the stressful anxiety attacks, but recently I have been clouding my mind with negative thoughts, I attempt to talk myself out of them and it’s a constant battle. Not to mention that I am angry, I am so angry at myself for feeling the way that I do. I feel like I have lost a part of my work ethic, I have no more motivation in me to do anything. I’ve been pushing through it, I still do my work, I still study but it’s really hard for me. I have been so exhausted, I am honestly so tired of being tired. I get home from school late, I stay up all night doing homework, and I don’t sleep. Last night, I got home around 9, ate, did homework and didn’t get in the shower until 1. I am stuck in a slump and it’s causing me to experience exhaust-stre-anger.
ReplyDeleteI am a very emotional person, I let them control me and make decisions and that is a good and bad thing. I believe I have a good heart, and I constantly want what's best for everyone around me. But, I sometimes become self-critical and feel alone in a room full of people. I feel like my constant sensitivity becomes an annoyance and people become tired of me and my presence. When that is far from the case (that's what my friends tell me at least). I am someone who needs constant reassurance, and I think part of that comes from emotional trauma of being surrounded by flip-floppy friends and even family. One minute they're there for you and the next they're against you or you aren't benefiting them anymore. I can never think of a word to describe this emotion, loneliness doesn't suit well. So, I came up with abruabaneedophobia. The fear of abruptly being abandoned by the people I love due to my constant need for reassurance and validation. I combined the words abrupt, abandoned, and need with phobia. This emotion sometimes overcomes me and can put me in a dark place for days where I shut myself out from everyone, usually for no reason at all. I wish I could not be this way but hey, that's just overthinking Maz for you. :)
ReplyDeleteDo you know that feeling you get when you go somewhere you haven't been to in a long time and feel some sort of way. It can't just be me. I have never been able to describe this sensation in a word. It's that feeing of remembrance and a mixture of how you felt the last time you went there. For example, going to the boardwalk for the first of the summer season. Suddenly you get this feeling of excitement to be back, the emotions you feel when remembering all the good times that happened last year and the feeling of remembering how you felt. The word I came up with to describe this sensation is remebremotion. It is pretty simple how I came up with this word, I took the two most significant words remembrance and emotion and jammed them together to create my very own word. I don't get this feeling a lot. Only if I go somewhere where I haven't been in a while. It's not like every time I go over my friends house this happens but the place also does not have to be significant either.
ReplyDeleteFor me, the best feelings that I have ever felt have mostly come from doing what I love. I love volleyball, lacrosse, drama and choir. However, not all of these feelings can be considered happy feelings. The word I created describes that feeling you get before you step out onto the field, court or stage. I get this feeling when I've prepared so much for my game or performance and I just hope that I can do my best and not mess up. I can never find the perfect word to describe this feeling and now I have one! What I came up with was antineranx. This is a combination of the words anticipation, nervous and anxious. This word could be used in many ways. It could apply to a sport, activity, school, or just life in general. For example, if you just took a huge test in math class and now you're waiting antineraxly for the teacher to put the grades in. This is an emotion that can be good or bad, depending on the outcome. Overall, now I have a word for this indescribable feeling.
ReplyDeleteI am always baffled, overwhelmed, and passive. That is due to it being junior year. I always thought junior year was going to be like any other year. Freshman year and sophomore year were good in terms of workload and time management. Not only is the workload heavier but my time is more strict. While you have to manage your classes and after-school-activities we also have to find time to study for the SAT and find time to prep for AP exams. Junior year also makes you more competitive. When we think about it, school is almost like the Hunger Games. Everyone including me tries to survive high school by making the top of your classes or top percent of your grade. It may not be true but it seems one slip up in your years of high school would affect the rest of your life or the path you choose when you graduate. I learned junior year is not a year to play, it’s technically the last full year to prove to colleges that you mean business. Back to those words that describe me, if I had to make up a word for how I'm always feeling… Baoversive [ Bay-o-ver-siv]. I feel Baoversive when it comes to the whole thought of junior year. It makes it seem like if we mess up once this year the last two years I worked so hard won’t mean anything to colleges. But at the end of the day, I do have to remain passive to keep me sane.
ReplyDeleteThroughout junior I have been connected with the following feelings anger, stress, frustration, and anxiety. For example you're taking a vocab test that you study for the night prior. Then the day you have the test in front of you on your desk, and all the words and definitions escape your brain. Now you sit there staring at a blank paper thinking, "what the hell are you doing?" or "why the hell am I doing this?" Need a word to describe how stupid you feel or to describe how stupid something is or to relieve stress? Well I have the perfect word for you! Ladies and gentlemen may I introduce the word Fricidiotic. Now this word is used when anyone has nothing but pure anger towards something else. For instance, I get frustrated doing homework for a class and just scream this "This is the most fricidiotic thing I have ever done!" or you stuck on a test "oh come on you fricidiotic human use your head!" The word helps relieve all my frustrations and stress. Sure the backlash is you probably sound like the angriest and insane person on the planet, but hey nothing is perfect in life. Now I have the perfect word to relieve stress anytime I want and that is undisputed.
ReplyDeleteAt this point in my life, I could talk about anything and make up a word for it; times where I was in love, and times where I was heartbroken; times where I was overflowing with happiness, and times where I was drowning in darkness; times where I felt like I was really living in the moment, and times where I (basically) just felt like a lifeless heap of flesh. I could choose to be optimistic, and reminisce about the good times, but I’m kinda in my bag right now. And that’s really what blogs are about; you can talk about how your feeling and express yourself through words- which I appreciate. So, before I go on rambling about this word I’m about to create, I’ll start out with the basic, generic synonym: overwhelmed- you’re about to see why. My word would be stranxdepfrulosconappsilguisufsubalodraemptirbro. Sure, it doesn’t make sense, and it’s long and pointless- but that’s honestly my life right now. It’s all over the place, and I am incredibly overwhelmed, hence the synonym. The word that I’ve created is also moderately overwhelming, so it correlates with the whole theme I’ve got going on (nasty wording, I know). Anyway, you’re probably wondering, “wtf does that mean?”-honestly, something that I question everyday- but basically, my one expansive word is a condensed version of 16 different words (emotions, whatever) that I’ve been recently experiencing. And to add to that theme, they’re all emotions that I’ve been overwhelmed and inundated by. “Str” stands for “stressed,” which I have been, fo’ sure. I’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of stress that I’ve been dealing with- with school, my future, my relationships, everything. “Anx” stands for “anxious,” which goes along with the stress concept. I’ve been overwhelmed by feelings of unease, worry, and nervousness, as they’ve been constricting my mind and all of the decisions that I’ve been making, and the possible outcomes worry the crap out of me. “Dep” stands for “depressed,” which is pretty self-explanatory. I’m just overwhelmed by the amount of immense sadness that I’ve been feeling; so overwhelmed that it all just cancels out so I’m this ball of emotionlessness. “Fru” stands for “frustrated”. I’ve been overwhelmed by what’s going on in my life, with a certain person, and with school, which is making me extremely frustrated- I feel like I need to let it out, but I don’t know how. “Los” stands for “lost.” I’ve just been feeling pretty lost recently, which is causing me to feel overwhelmed again; I don’t know where I’m going with anything. I don’t even know where I am right now. “Con” stands for “confused.” I’ve been feeling a lot of confusion lately, mainly because of how someone is (like HOW, how, h o w, can you be that way. like please tell me because I am struggling man), and just with myself really. As I said before, I have no idea where I am in life. (I deeply regret my decision of explaining all of these words.) “App” stands for “apprehensive” because I’ve been overwhelmed by feelings of anxiety and fear that something bad could happen; I’m on edge 25/8 because I never know what could happen, or what ~should~ happen. “Sil” stands for “silent” because I’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of silence that I’m compressing inside of me. It’s not even like I don’t talk, because I will, but I don’t say what I want to, and that hurts. “Gui” stands for “guilty” because I’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of guilt that I’ve been processing. And maybe that’s just that person putting all of the guilt on me, and I’m overthinking it, but man, it does not feel good.
ReplyDelete“Suf” stands for “suffocated” because I’ve been overwhelmed by the capacity of suffocation that I’ve been experiencing, in my relationship and just life in general- being choked figuratively. “Sub” stands for “submerged” because I’ve been feeling overwhelmed and drowned in feelings of hopelessness. “Alo” stands for “alone” because I’ve been feeling pretty alone lately, and kind of overwhelmed by a lot of those emotions. “Dra” stands for “drained” because I’ve been feeling pretty mentally drained, from everything that’s been going on, with some people, school, work, life- and that’s pretty overwhelming. “Emp” stands for empty because I’ve honestly been feeling like a blank slate, emotionally, and physically. I put a lot into things that didn’t work out, and now I’ve just learned to deal with it- and I actually really want to change that. “Tir” stands for tired because I’m very mentally and physically tired- tired of how I’ve been treated, tired of how I’ve been feeling, tired because of late nights of overthinking, tired because I put so much effort into things that don’t pay off, etc. And that’s a very overwhelming feeling. “Bro” stands for “broken” because, well, I broke into a million, tiny pieces. I’m like little pieces of glass, scattered across the floor, cutting anyone that gets too close. I just need someone to put the gloves on, pick me up, and put me back together. And sure, maybe the pieces won’t ever fit back into their correct place, but it’s the thought that counts. It’s the thought of being built back up, into something completely different, maybe, but with the same foundation that will always be me. I will always be me. And maybe that’s an overwhelming thought, because do I even want to still be me? Do I even want these same emotions? That just makes up who I am, I guess. I just fill myself with stranxdepfrulosconappsilguisufsubalodraemptirbro, and the thought of that is very overwhelming.
DeleteThe feeling I am going to describe I get in a very specific situation, and it happens to me once a year. It’s the last day of my week long vacation in Virginia Beach. I love it there, and want to stay, but I’m ready to go home. I’d go to the beach every day, especially that one, if I had it my way, but homesickness starts to kick in a little bit (mostly because of the dogs). And I stay up all night with my favorite people in the world, and watch the sunrise over one of the most beautiful beaches on the east coast, and I’d love nothing more than to run and jump into the ocean and stay for another week, but I’d also love nothing more than to be laying in my own bed with my dog by my side. I think the word most similar to this feeling would be “bittersweet,” which I would provide a definition for, but the word is the definition, something that’s both bitter and sweet. That word describes my feeling relatively well, but it doesn’t capture the complexity of it I think. The word I would use, or create rather is “homationsick,” like homesick, but with home and vacation mixed together. I created this because when you’re home sick, you miss home, but in my case, I miss home and my vacation at the same time. It’s not the most complex thought process, but it encaptures the emotion better than bittersweet. It shows that you miss being at home, and being on vacation at the same time, and I think when people get homesick, it’s because they remember the best parts of home, and when I get this feeling, all I can think about is the best parts of both, and that makes me wanna be in both places at once.
ReplyDeleteI often find myself treating and caring for others far more than they care for me. I have always wanted to be the person someone goes to to feel better when they’re sad or when they need help in certain situations. Which with some people I am the person they go to for help whether it be break ups, boys in general, family problems, issues with other people, or even deeper than that. For a while I enjoyed helping them, and don’t get me wrong I still do, I love being able to make my friends and others feel like they have someone to go to and they’re not alone. But the thing is, after all the help I give others I don’t get that in return. I went through a very hard break up but no one was really there for me. They didn’t like him so I always felt stupid for telling the way I felt about him to my own friends, so I couldn’t even open up to them how broken I was when we broke up. Like many others, I have multiple family problems that upsets me a lot but I deal with them on my own because Im not the person to reach out, I’m reached out to. I feel like a burden telling others my problems because others have it much worse. But I also have similar family problems with others but the difference is others listen, with me they don’t. Some would say this would make me feel alone, which it kind of does but it’s doesn’t really explain my feeling towards the whole situation. I would say a better word is “Upfused”. I am overall upset and confused how I can be there for everyone but no ones there for me. From this I have learned to keep everything in and not talk about things going on. I don’t need other people’s reassurance or them to help me. I just wonder what I’m doing wrong. I’ve always thought “Treat others the way you want to be treated” but at this point I’m not so sure about it anymore.
ReplyDeleteThe situation I always find myself stuck in without a word is when I’m angry because I’m sad. This happens a lot with my friends and other relationships. If they do something that gets my really upset like telling someone a secret they will never see that I am upset. They will just see how angry I am at them for doing something I very specifically told them not to do. But the problem about this situation is although I seem mad, I am really just upset. When people ask me if I’m ok I never truly have a word to describe how I am feeling. The word I usually use is “just upset” but that never encompasses the anger that I also feel. So the word I came up with for this situation is depressogr. This word is a combination of depressed and angry. It helps encompass two emotions that are very similar and are so different at the same time. Most importantly this word covers that “loss for words” situation where you want to describe your emotions but can’t.
ReplyDeleteDo you ever see, hear, or think something and automatically it just gets stuck in your head? Like you try to think of anything else, but the thought of it still lingers in the corner of your mind? It can be good, but it most cases for me it's something bad. And sometimes when you think it's gone away, if someone says something that reminds you of it, it pops right back at the top of your mind. It could even be a friendship or relationship that you've had, and you just can't get this person or the feelings you've felt with them out of your head. This, my friends, is what I call a "mindworm." I often find myself in situations where there's no way I can get this THING out of my brain. The thought is like a small little worm that just moves around your brain, but it never really escapes. And even when you think it's gone, it's just in the back of your mind.
ReplyDeleteWe all know the feelings of butterflies when we are meeting up with someone, doing something new, just get the jittery feeling in your belly. My new word for that feeling is erkah. When you say erkah though, it is more dramatic because you can not hold it in. You just want to scream ahh because of the excitement and rush you feel but also so scared. By scared I mean you want to cancel whatever you are doing because you are scared of the outcome or even in the moment of what happened. The feeling just sometimes over comes your actual feelings mostly from over thinking. You might feel like a burden or just confused on what is going on so you just want to scream erkah.
ReplyDeleteI get very nervous at times and I do some weird things. I don´t show it normally, but it happens mostly every day. I twist the underneath of my hair and then my hair goes into a knot because I twist it so much, and then I just pull it out. It was really bad freshman year to the point where I couldn´t even wear a bun at the top of my head because the bottom neath of my hair was plenty shorter than the rest of my hair. Then, I would also have to touch every thing four times if my brain told me I have to, and if I didn´t touch something four times, my brain would tell me that something bad will happen. So, the word I have for this is hairectomy or twisties.
ReplyDeleteI have just returned from the best vacation ever, one of the best weeks in my life after so much time of sadness and stress. However, leaving was the hardest things I had to do. For once, I felt like I was able to be carefree and happy, without having to stress about anything and just have fun all day. Leaving the cruise ship was like a slap in the face from reality. I kid you not, I cried at least ten times before it was even the afternoon(yes, I was that upset). At this moment, I still want to cry because I had such a great time and I am not ready to give that up. I just want to go back and not have to worry about anything. Unfortunately, I have to face reality and go back to my life. I am overwhelmed with stress, which makes it even harder to go back to school. There is so much work I have to do and so much more that is going to be coming my way. I wouldn’t change anything though and I am so thankful for having a bit of an escape for family time. I guess what I am feeling right now is stress and extreme sadness. However, the word that I created to describe what I am feeling is realiphobia. Reali, standing for reality and phobia standing for the fear of facing it. I just don’t want to go back to school and I didn’t want to go home because I was so happy and I didn’t worry about anything. I know that I had to come back, but that just made me want to stay even more. This is not the first time that I have felt this. I feel this way whenever I am stressed, overwhelmed, and sad. It just makes me feel anxious.
ReplyDelete