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They Have a Word for It Quotes
They Have a Word for It: A Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words & Phrases
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Howard Rheingold318 ratings, 3.87 average rating, 61 reviews
They Have a Word for It Quotes
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“ho'oponopono (Hawaiian):
Solving a problem by talking it out. After an invocation of the gods, the aggrieved parties sit down and discuss the issue until it is set right (pono means righteousness).”
― They Have a Word for It: A Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words & Phrases
Solving a problem by talking it out. After an invocation of the gods, the aggrieved parties sit down and discuss the issue until it is set right (pono means righteousness).”
― They Have a Word for It: A Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words & Phrases
“shibui (Japanese)
Beauty of aging. [adjective]
Shibui (shin-BOO-ee), like wabi, sabi, and aware, connotes a certain kind of beauty. Like sabi, and unlike aware, shibui refers to a kind of beauty that only time can reveal. One of the reasons language has such immense emotional power is the way people use symbols to link together several sensory sym-bols to make an emotionally evocative image. Shibui can be used to describe the taste of a certain kind of tea, scenery of a gray, brown, or moss-green color, or the impression a person gets from looking at the face of a certain kind of older person.”
― They Have a Word for It: A Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words & Phrases
Beauty of aging. [adjective]
Shibui (shin-BOO-ee), like wabi, sabi, and aware, connotes a certain kind of beauty. Like sabi, and unlike aware, shibui refers to a kind of beauty that only time can reveal. One of the reasons language has such immense emotional power is the way people use symbols to link together several sensory sym-bols to make an emotionally evocative image. Shibui can be used to describe the taste of a certain kind of tea, scenery of a gray, brown, or moss-green color, or the impression a person gets from looking at the face of a certain kind of older person.”
― They Have a Word for It: A Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words & Phrases
“ostranenie (Russian)
Art as defarniliarization, making familiar perceptions seem strange. [verb]
...According to at least one school, the Russian formalists, the purpose of art is to "defamiliarize" the world. The word ostranenie (ohsh-truh-NYEHN-yay), used in this sense, means the "making strange" of objects and percep-tions that are familiar. In this sense, art has profound psycho-logical and cultural functions. Indeed, without "crazy artists" to make the familiar seem strange, we might still be huddled in our caves, waiting for the hunters to return with some raw meat to get us through the night.”
― They Have a Word for It: A Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words & Phrases
Art as defarniliarization, making familiar perceptions seem strange. [verb]
...According to at least one school, the Russian formalists, the purpose of art is to "defamiliarize" the world. The word ostranenie (ohsh-truh-NYEHN-yay), used in this sense, means the "making strange" of objects and percep-tions that are familiar. In this sense, art has profound psycho-logical and cultural functions. Indeed, without "crazy artists" to make the familiar seem strange, we might still be huddled in our caves, waiting for the hunters to return with some raw meat to get us through the night.”
― They Have a Word for It: A Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words & Phrases
“aware (Japanese)
The feelings engendered by ephemeral beauty. [noun]
Something of the sweetness and brevity of life is conveyed wordlessly in the fall of a petal. This inspires a kind of aware-ness known as aware (ah-WAH-ray), brought on by that ephemeral, fragile beauty of, say, a cherry blossom as it floats to the ground. Would cherry blossoms be as poignantly beautiful if they bloomed all year round, or if they were as tough as walnuts? Would our worldview be enriched if our notion of beautiful objects expanded to include things that remind us of our mortality?”
― They Have a Word for It: A Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words & Phrases
The feelings engendered by ephemeral beauty. [noun]
Something of the sweetness and brevity of life is conveyed wordlessly in the fall of a petal. This inspires a kind of aware-ness known as aware (ah-WAH-ray), brought on by that ephemeral, fragile beauty of, say, a cherry blossom as it floats to the ground. Would cherry blossoms be as poignantly beautiful if they bloomed all year round, or if they were as tough as walnuts? Would our worldview be enriched if our notion of beautiful objects expanded to include things that remind us of our mortality?”
― They Have a Word for It: A Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words & Phrases
“ngaobera:
a slight inflammation of the throat produced by screaming too much.”
― They Have a Word for It: A Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words & Phrases
a slight inflammation of the throat produced by screaming too much.”
― They Have a Word for It: A Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words & Phrases
“frotteur (French)
Man who rubs up against strangers in crowds. [noun]
Unfortunately, those men who pay homage to their erec-tions for spiritual purposes are in the distinct minority. One of the hazards of the urban environment are those situa-tions where crowds of strangers are forced to stand very closely together. The subway rush hour, the jammed depart-ment store, and other places where stationary, standing crowds can be found are places where a particularly noxious although relatively harmless variety of sexual deviant can be found. The French reserve the word frotteur (frawt-HER, with "H" silent) for those individuals who get their jollies by rubbing their crotches against the buttocks of women in crowds.”
― They Have a Word for It: A Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words & Phrases
Man who rubs up against strangers in crowds. [noun]
Unfortunately, those men who pay homage to their erec-tions for spiritual purposes are in the distinct minority. One of the hazards of the urban environment are those situa-tions where crowds of strangers are forced to stand very closely together. The subway rush hour, the jammed depart-ment store, and other places where stationary, standing crowds can be found are places where a particularly noxious although relatively harmless variety of sexual deviant can be found. The French reserve the word frotteur (frawt-HER, with "H" silent) for those individuals who get their jollies by rubbing their crotches against the buttocks of women in crowds.”
― They Have a Word for It: A Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words & Phrases
“esprit de l'escalier (French) and Theppenwitz (German)
Clever remark that comes to mind when it is too late to utter it. [nouns]
The French said it first when they came up with a name for that special kind of unspoken word or phrase, the clever rejoinder to the public insult, or the brilliantly witty remark that comes into your mind only after you have left the party: Esprit de l'escalier (ehs-PREE duh les-kall-YAY) literally means "the spirit of the staircase." Sometimes, this feeling about what you ought to have said at a crucial moment can haunt you for the rest of your life.
If it happens to you or a friend, and if you are feeling Continental, the French idiom is probably appropriate. In other cases, however, the German derivative Treppenwitz (TRAP-pen-vitz, rhymes with "Jack and Fritz") may prevail, since it carries the concept further, to historical dimensions. In addition to referring to the kind of remark that occurs to a person when it is too late, it also applies to events that appear to be the result of a joke played by fate or history. The Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812 is a classic example. Andrew Jackson led his irregulars to the war's greatest victory for the Americans, but because of the slow communications of the era, it was fought two weeks after the British and Americans had signed a peace treaty!”
― They Have a Word for It: A Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words & Phrases
Clever remark that comes to mind when it is too late to utter it. [nouns]
The French said it first when they came up with a name for that special kind of unspoken word or phrase, the clever rejoinder to the public insult, or the brilliantly witty remark that comes into your mind only after you have left the party: Esprit de l'escalier (ehs-PREE duh les-kall-YAY) literally means "the spirit of the staircase." Sometimes, this feeling about what you ought to have said at a crucial moment can haunt you for the rest of your life.
If it happens to you or a friend, and if you are feeling Continental, the French idiom is probably appropriate. In other cases, however, the German derivative Treppenwitz (TRAP-pen-vitz, rhymes with "Jack and Fritz") may prevail, since it carries the concept further, to historical dimensions. In addition to referring to the kind of remark that occurs to a person when it is too late, it also applies to events that appear to be the result of a joke played by fate or history. The Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812 is a classic example. Andrew Jackson led his irregulars to the war's greatest victory for the Americans, but because of the slow communications of the era, it was fought two weeks after the British and Americans had signed a peace treaty!”
― They Have a Word for It: A Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words & Phrases
“fisselig (German):
Flustered to the point of incompetence. A temporary state of inexactitude and sloppiness that is elicited by another person's nagging.”
― They Have a Word for It: A Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words & Phrases
Flustered to the point of incompetence. A temporary state of inexactitude and sloppiness that is elicited by another person's nagging.”
― They Have a Word for It: A Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words & Phrases
