Word of the Week

This week’s word is land nam. An Icelandic word meaning ‘the sanctification of new land by mythologizing it’. Sounds like it has more to say for itself, don't you think? Let's hear it out!

This week’s word is fisselig. A German word meaning ‘flustered to the point of incompetence’. But what else does this word have to say for itself? Let's listen in!

This week’s word is salogok. An Eskimo word meaning ‘young black ice’. I bet there's far more to this word than meets the eye. Let's hear what it has to say for itself!

This week’s word is baraka. An Arabic word meaning ‘a gift of spiritual energy that can be used for mundane purposes’. Sounds interesting! Let's hear what else this word has to say for itself, shall we?

This week’s word is maya. A Sanskrit word meaning ‘the mistaken belief that a symbol is the same as the reality it represents’. Sounds like a big deal. What does this word really have to say for itself?

This week’s word is fucha. A Polish word meaning ‘using company time and resources for your own ends’. What a juicy word! Let's hear what else it has to say for itself, shall we?

This week’s word is ta. A Chinese word meaning ‘to understand things and thus take them lightly’. How mysterious... Shall we listen in and hear what else this word has to say for itself?

This week’s word is lagniappe. A French Creole word meaning ‘an unexpected gift to a stranger or customer’. Now this word might be foreign to most of the United States, but not in New Orleans. Let's hear what else this word has to say for itself!

This week’s word is ponte. An Italian word meaning ‘an extra day off, taken to add a weekend to a national holiday’. Such an Italian word, right? Let's hear what else this word has to say for itself!

This week’s word is shibui. A Japanese word meaning ‘the beauty of aging’. One of the many words in Japanese remarking on beauty. But let's hear what else this word has to say for itself!

This week’s word is Drachenfutter. A German word meaning ‘peace offering for wives from guilty husbands’. It’s an interesting word in many ways. But let's hear what else this word has to say for itself, shall we?

This week’s word is sabsung. A Thai word meaning ‘to slake an emotional or spiritual thirst, to be revitalized’. Maybe you can relate to this? Let's hear what the word has to say for itself!

This week’s word is bricoleur. A French word meaning ‘a person who constructs things by randomly messing around without following an explicit plan’. Let's hear what this word has to say for itself, shall we?

This week’s word is hozh’q. A Navajo word meaning ‘the beauty of life, as seen and created by a person’. But there must be so much more to it than that. Let's hear what this word has to say for itself!

This week’s word is cavoli riscaldati, an Italian phrase that means ‘an attempt to revive an old relationship’. What else does this word have to say for itself? Let's listen in!

This week’s word is wabi, a Japanese word meaning ‘a flawed detail that creates an elegant whole’. What else does this word have to say for itself? Let's listen in!

This week’s word is talanoa. A Hindi word that means ‘idle talk as a social adhesive’. There's much more to this word though, let's hear what it has to say for itself!

This week’s word is a double hitter: Treppenwitz in German and esprit de l’escalier in French. They both refer to a clever remark that comes to mind when it’s too late to utter it. Let's hear what these words have to say for themselves!

This week’s word is rasa. A Sanskrit word meaning ‘the mood or sentiment evoked by a work of art’. But there's so much to this word, let's hear what else it has to say for itself!