“do you fucking mind”
Everyone’s like “those Germans have a word for everything” but English has a word for tricking someone into watching the music video for Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up.
English has a lot more words created for very specific phenomena! It’s not just rick-rolling. Language is always evolving and it’s super interesting! Here’s a list of hyper-specific/untranslatable words in English.
This week’s posts were brought to you by Black Apron
This month we’re serving up dinosaur meat and arsenic
I will never not be delighted by the first English description of an opossum:
“An Opassom hath an head like a Swine, and a taile like a Rat, and is of the bignes of a Cat. Under her belly she hath a bagge, wherein she lodgeth, carrieth, and sucketh her young.”
You, an edgy mall goth: Personal Jesus by Marilyn Manson
Me: an even edgier mall goth: Personal Jesus by Mindless Self Indulgence
Me, a cowgoth: Personal Jesus by Johnny Cash
Me, a gay cowgoth: Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode
*refers to any musical group with just men as a boy band*
Someone: do you like the rolling stones?
Me: sorry I’m just not into boy bands
Me: *goes to a bookshop to look for new books*
Me: *gravitates to books that I already own*
Me: *pointing excitedly* I’ve got that!