Scheissenbedauern

Words from other languages can articulate thoughts that may have been on the tip of our tongues, or even right at the back of the brain. Neko-neko, for example, the Indonesian for ‘one who has a creative idea that only makes things worse’. I’ve worked with more than a few of those over the years. Sometimes the very existence of a word brings a sense of relief (god they’ve thought that too!) Ataoso, for example, Central American Spanish for ‘one who sees problems with everything’. I have at least one of them in my own life, naming no names.

And as for those German ‘portmanteau’ words. My favourite in the book is Scheissenbedauern, ‘the disappointment one feels when something turns out not nearly as badly as one had expected’. You have to think: what kind of a mind first came up with that? And when? Returning from the surprisingly enjoyable wedding of an ex? Or did the word originally relate to a work-project?