Something Rhymes with Purple - Tartle

Episode Date: May 21, 2019

Mind the gap. This week we’re looking for words for the things, feelings and experiences we don’t yet have names for. A Somethin’ Else Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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so your business insurance should be too. Contact a licensed TD Insurance advisor to learn more. Hello and welcome to Something Rhymes with Purple, the podcast about words, anything to do with words at all. So I'm Susie Dent and I'm sitting opposite Giles Brandreth. And today we're going to be talking about gaps, mind the gaps, all the gaps in English that, you know, just for things that we just don't have a word for and there are so many of them. But before I start, Giles, you very recently said you were going to tell me about names with five letters in them.

Yeah, because you are so lucky, Susie Dent, in that your name is Susie, S-U-S-I-E, that has got five letters in it. I'm very blessed too, because my name is Giles, G-Y-L-E-S. And all the great people in the history of the world have names containing just five letters. I know this because I discovered that Oscar Wilde had a thing about five letterletter names. And he had concluded that all the greats in the history of the world had names of five letters. So you think Plato. Plato. Jesus.

Giles. Susie. Oscar. In fact, Oscar and Wilde, which is quite intriguing. Oscar Wilde used to say that 100 years from now, my friends will think of me as Oscar. My enemies will think of me as Wilde, both five-letter words. And he felt the ultimate proof of this was when he was in New York, and he visited the famous circus owner, P.T. Barnum, and was introduced to Jumbo the Elephant. And he said, there you are, Jumbo. It will become a world-known name, Jumbo. And of course, then Jumbo was simply Jumbo the elephant. And as a result, not necessarily of Oscar Wilde saying it, but his prediction became true because we have, you know, jumbo sandwiches.

We have jumbo jets. We have jumbo everything because of Jumbo the elephant. Anybody who becomes known by the first name, they're just known by their first name, whether you like them or not. They're usually, I mean, I remember Terry Wogan saying to me, all the people that people love, they're all just known by their first name. They're just known by their first name. Whether you like them or not, they're usually, I mean, I remember Terry Wogan saying to me, all the people that people love, they're all just known by their first name. Think of Scylla, you know, and then think of Wogan. If it's a surname, it's Wogan. Scylla, people love Scylla. But people do. I mean, if you're known by one name, and it'll be five letters. When I say to you, Boris, you know who I mean, don't you? It's the five-letter, the power of the five-letter word.

I like to know Boris as throttle-bottom. Throttle-bottom is just perfect for Boris Johnson, really. I hope he's not listening. But a throttle-bottom, if you look in the dictionary, or if you look in sort of dialect dictionaries, a throttle-bottom is a slightly inept person in public office. A throttle-bottom. But of course, I'm not saying that Boris is inept. He just likes to pretend that he's inept person in public office. A throttle bottom. But of course, I'm not saying that Boris is inept. He just likes to pretend that he's inept. Yeah. Well, look, the point is we're talking about him.

And one of the reasons we're talking about him is that the name is memorable. It's a five-letter word. So if you are listening to this and you have a five-letter name, yay, feel good about it. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule, as Nelson Mandela explained to me when I met him. Because I tried to tell him this.

This sounds like a sort of just a minute excursion to me. I like it. You're right. What a lot of nonsense. Anyway, that's not what we're talking about today. Tell me about linguistic gaps. Mind. Can I tell you one other thing? And then I will keep quiet. OK. I'll keep quiet. I had a friend who had a five letter name, Simon Goodell. He was an actor and he died, sadly, in the 1990s. He was famous, if people remember him, it's because they saw him in Heidi High television series on British television. And he played the holiday camp

manager and he died young in his 40s. And he was my best friend from school. Anyway, he did a lot of voiceovers. And this is a curious thing to tell you. But today, coming along to our podcast, I came through London Bridge Station. And as I got off the underground, I heard a voice saying, Mind the gap! Mind the gap! And it was his? It was his. Oh, how amazing.

Recorded about 40 years ago. And they're still using it at London Bridge Station. Oh, fantastic. Isn Recorded about 40 years ago and they're still using it at London Bridge Station. Oh, fantastic. Isn't that wonderful? Yeah. So I stopped and I waited for two trains to go through to hear the voice again. Oh, nice. Mind the gap. Mind the gap. So tell us now about linguistic gaps.

Well, I'm on Twitter. You're on Twitter. I am. What is your Twitter handle? At Susie underscore Dent. Susie underscore is a bit difficult. I know. The underscore is the lower thing, isn't it? The underscore is the lower thing.

And I am at Giles. Thank you for asking. I'm at Giles B1. Giles B1. There are other Giles Bs available. G-Y-L-E-S B1. Well, there may be. They've been poached by other people.

Of course. I wanted to get my own name. And there are people just sitting on it. Wanting money. Wanting money. And I say I'm not worth it own name and there are people just sitting on it wanting money and I say I'm not worth it. So I'm just Jawsby1. It's just Jawsby1.

Anyway, thanks to Twitter, I am reminded constantly that there are certain concepts, certain emotions, certain things in English for which we apparently have no name. And one of the ones that I'm often asked about

is the word that describes leaving important emails until you've got time to address them properly and in the process forgetting about them altogether so it's a really long long but you know such a common occurrence that has no name in English and I'm not aware of any name so I can't help with that one but it's brilliant it's a real I mean this is the story of my life I do all the superficial stuff first and then the big heavy ones you think I'll get back to, this is the story of my life. I do all the superficial stuff first and then the big, heavy ones.

You just think I'll get back to that one. Exactly, which is why I'm afraid I never came back to you during that terrible midlife crisis of yours. But partly I knew that you would actually just steam through. It'll fizzle out. It did. It'll fizzle out. So today we're talking about exactly that.

So the everyday occurrences or experiences or feelings that we have, for which there is no apparent name. So there are two solutions to this. One is, I think, looking in a historical dictionary and seeing if that can help you. And very, very often it can. Did you, for example, know that there is a word from Scots for that kind of panicky hesitation that you feel just before you have to talk to somebody or indeed introduce somebody whose name you just can't remember oh yes do you know there's a word for that tartle tartle as in the famous diana dawes story oh i don't know about that anyway those who do know will be enjoying that moment um people won't even know diana dawes while she was a beautiful and delightful actress

who i knew whose real name was diana fluck. And then when she went back to her old school for speech day or to unveil a plaque or something, the poor headmaster was absolutely terrified that he was going to say, you know, the wrong thing. He was determined to get her name right because he wanted to call her by her original name, not Diana Dawes. You know, he wanted to call her by her original name, not Diana Dawes. He wanted to call her Diana Fluck and he was absolutely obsessed not to get it right. Absolutely. So he gets up and he says, you know, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we are so thrilled that returning to the

school after all these years is that great and beautiful and brilliant British actress. Please welcome Miss Diana Clum. No, Miss Diana, thank you for mucking up my joke. I'll do it again because this is a podcast. We can get away with this one.

Ladies and gentlemen... Ladies... Well, it shows that it's not rehearsed. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, please would you welcome that wonderful former pupil of our school, the great British actress, Miss Diana Clumpt. So he was suffering from Tartle. Well, no, he wasn't really, because I think he was concentrating so hard on not saying

one thing that he chose another instead. Oh, so it's, but it's the nervousness you feel when you can't remember something. Yes. Well, when you can't remember someone's name, this is you're about to introduce. What's the origin of that? I have no idea. As they say, Scottish, it's in the Scots dictionary. Oh, a terrible touch of Tartle. It's the kind of verb? I have no idea. As I say, Scottish. It's in the Scots dictionary. A terrible touch of title.

It's the kind of verb I do like it. Anyway, so that's the first solution. Potential solution is to look within a historical dictionary. And the second one, of course, is to borrow from a foreign language. And there are so many lists available now of words that exist in other countries, in other languages, which fill the gaps in our own. Give me your prime example. Not many of us can pronounce them. Well, I suppose the one that everybody knows or at least has heard of, which is consequently not that interesting, but I'll say it anyway, Schadenfreude.

It's very interesting because I've heard of it. I have no idea what it means or how to spell it, where it comes from and why you use it. Okay, it's from German. Schaden means harm or damage and freude is joy or enjoyment. So it is enjoyment in the misfortune of others. Oh, as in the old Chinese proverb, there is no pleasure so great as seeing a good friend fall off the roof.

How awful is that? But how interesting. That's schadenfreude. So that's a really well-known one. I often feel that. I've reached the age where I speak at a lot of memorial services and funerals. And I often stand up and look out over the congregation and think, yes, we're still here. Yes, that possibly is schadenfreude. So the schaden means what again? It means damage or harm.

Damage. And Freude means? Joy or enjoyment. Or pleasure. It's pleasure. In someone else's misfortune. There is a lovely opposite for that, by the way, which you can find in Older Dictionaries.

And that will be one of my trio at the end of the podcast, one of my three words that might enrich people's vocabulary. So this is the reason that during all that Brexit stuff, some people were saying that the Europeans would be a sense of schadenfreude if it all went wrong for the UK if they left. Yes, absolutely. That's the way it's been used. And why does it have a capital S?

Because German words have it. German nouns all have capital letters. Staying with German, there are some other wonderful ones. You don't need to ask me how to spell this one. We'll be here forever. But it's quite useful for me because I appear on a comedy show called 8 Out of 10 Cat Stars Countdown. And the host of that program, Jimmy Carr, is always rude to me, basically. He delights in being rude in his introductions to me, which secretly I quite like, I have to say, because it makes me feel part of the team.

But anyway, they're all a bit nasty. And so I often think about Jimmy that he has a buck-pfeifen-gesicht. Say it again. Buck-pfeifen-gesicht. Don't ask me to spell it. Please spell it. No, no, it's too long.

It means a face badly in need of a slap. Oh, say it again, say it again. Buck-pfeifen-gesicht. Buck-pfeifen-gesicht. Buck-pfeifen-gesicht. Buck-pfeifen-gesicht. Backpfeifengesicht. Backpfeifengesicht. Backpfeifengesicht. A face that needs slapping. A face badly in need of a slap.

I'm just going to riff on German because they have so many words for which we have no equivalent. But I don't like that one. I don't think it's an acceptable word. Oh, okay. I'm not sure you'll like this one either. And it's not particularly PC either. And that's Drachenfutter which translates as dragon food or dragon fodder

and that the Germans use for a gift that a man, usually a man or by his wife or partner to make up for some misdemeanor or wrongdoing. Dragon food. Isn't that awful?

Oh, it's awful. Oh, I see. To appease the dragon. Yeah, it's terrible. So I'm just going To appease the dragon. Yeah, it's terrible. So I'm just going to stay with Gemma for a little bit because have you heard of the writer Ben Short? Of course I have. OK. I've just read, with great enjoyment, his PG Woodhouse update.

He's done a PG Woodhouse story making Bertie Wooster a kind of modern James Bond. Oh, fantastic. It's most entertaining. And I'm a great PG.G. Woodhouse fan. So Ben Schott did it. So I recommend that. He's done lots of different kind of just beautiful miscellany, Schott's miscellanies.

And they're fun. They're full of sort of apparently useless, but actually riveting information. And he did something called Schottenfreude. And we've talked about Schottenfreude. Schottenfreude was his take on German words for which we have no English equivalent. But the beauty of it was that he and a German translator

made up the German words in order to fill gaps that they had identified in the English language. And the result is just hilarious. So, for example, he will have, and again, don't ask me to spell it because we'll be here forever. That is German after all. Deppenfahrer beäugung. Now, Deppenfahrer beäugung is his word for the compulsion to stare at the person you're just overtaking in your car.

We do need a word for that, don't we? We always stare at the person that we're overtaking. At least I do. You mean you turn to look at them? Yeah, always. God, you learn driving from the Duke of Edinburgh. That's very dangerous. There's also...

I like it as a word, though. Speichelgleichmut. Speichel? Speichelgleichmut. Now, that translates in English as saliva stoicism, and that is pretending not to notice when someone spits at you in conversation. Oh, I know.

So it's really clever things like this. Say it again. Speichel gleich Mut. I won't give you the German equivalents, but the other gaps, the shortages in our language that he identified were the times when you mistake a paunch for a pregnancy. Oh, yes.

Yes, that happens on the underground. You're offering a seat to somebody who's going to have a baby and just they're, you know, they've got a... You have to be careful. When at a dinner, both of your neighbours turn, leaving you to stare at your plate. Oh, no. Up in there.

That's why, if I may say so, just to throw in something here. Yeah. That's why we can all learn so much from the Queen. Okay. Because as you know, the Queen at table, she turns to her right during the first course, her left during the second course, back to her right during the first course, her left during the second course, back to her right in the third course. And that evens out the

time perfectly because the right is their shorter course and everybody then does the same. Simple solution. So there you are. And she, of course, is German. Of course. By descent. What is the German word for this? Actually, I really can't remember.

It doesn't matter anyway. Another one, I'll just give you one more example. When a lull in ambient noise suddenly exposes you as shouting.

That's another really clever one. Especially in the cinema if you're just speaking quite loudly over music and then suddenly the music stops and you're just still shouting.

You're not one of those people who talk in the cinema. I absolutely don't, no. I hate to be, I'll tell you the other thing now that's happened in the cinema. We've got a lovely cinema near us, but it's got sort of day beds in. You know, you don't go and sit in the cinema like you used to. You now lie back as though you're at a Roman orgy

and there's a little table on the side. I love those. Of course you love it. But are you one of the people who brings in not just popcorn but packets of sweets that you rustle and open? No. A slurping of wine. You know the wonderful entertainment podcast that Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo do the most,

as you will know probably, do the most wonderful film review. And they have a code, code of conduct for the cinema and absolutely no sweet rappers, no talking, no mobile phones, no light from mobile phones, all of that. I agree.

And during the ads as well, I love a good ad. Oh, we might have an ad break in a moment. I love a good ad. I love the ads, I agree. And during the ads as well, I love a good ad. Oh, we might have an ad break in a moment. I love a good ad. I love the ads, I mean. I love the ads. I love the ads. I also love the trailers.

Though sometimes the trailers irritate me because I think I've had the whole film. You think you've had the whole film. And then you see the film and it's much better than the trailer. That's true. Actually, that's another Mark Kermode beef. Okay, give us a couple more

and then we'll take our break. Yes, I'll give you a couple more. Well, I won't give you a couple more of the schadenfreude one, though I do recommend it. It's absolutely brilliant. Just to stay with foreign words just for a minute. Another thing, and I'm actually genuinely asked about this quite a lot, and we all know one, we might be one,

and that is somebody who is always convinced that they're going to arrive on time, but are always late. And they are in German, in Swedish rather, a tidsoptimist, a time optimist. Oh, tidsoptimist. Yes. Tids as in a D, by the way. Well, I'm a tidsoptimist that we will get to our little break on time. But as ever, we've got to it a bit late. Shake it together. And there, finally, add Bacardi Rum.

Shake it together. And there you have it. The perfect summer mix. Bacardi. Do what moves you. Live passionately. Drink responsibly. Copyright 2024.

Bacardi, its trade dress and the bat device are trademarks of Bacardi and Company Limited. Rum 40% alcohol by volume. Imagine you're in Ottawa strolling through artistic landscapes at the National Gallery of Canada. Oh. Then cycling past Parliament Hill. Ah. Before unwinding on an outdoor patio. Oh. Then spending an evening on a cruise along the historic Rideau Canal. Exploration awaits in Ottawa from O to A. Plan your Ottawa itinerary at ottawatourism.ca. Mind the gap. Mind the gap. And Susie Dent is filling the gap with words that don't exist but ought to? Yes, well, sometimes they do, as I have mentioned. So sometimes there will be a concept or a feeling or an experience

for which we think we have no word in English, but we do. So I will in a minute come to all the words that are in historical dictionary that you won't know about but might actually be incredibly useful. But I'm just going to for a minute stay with foreign words, so foreign words that could be useful if we borrowed them in. I'm staying with German just because German, as you know, Giles, is my passion. Now, in lists of these wonderful foreign words, you will almost always find this word from German and it's Kummerspeck. That translates literally as grief bacon. And grief bacon is the little bit of weight that you put on in times of distress or loneliness or generally feeling low.

Kummerspeck. That is a very useful word. It is, isn't it? So when you're confusing the person you thought was pregnant, in fact, they put on a bit of a paunch, they can say, oh, it's just a bit of Kummerspeck. Kummerspeck. How do we spell that one? K-U-M-M-E-R-S-P-E-C-K. Lovely. Kummerspeck. Kummerspeck. How do we spell that one? K-U-M-M-E-R-S-P-E-C-K. Lovely.

Kummerspeck. Kummerspeck. Gosh. The trouble is, the Kummerspeck, in my case, doesn't come off. So it's got Kummerspeck on Kummerspeck. All those little difficult moments. Too much speck. Well, actually, not too much speck, because you're a vegetarian like me. Anyway, another one from Swedish, which is lovely.

You might have heard of this one, a lagom. Lagom. Lagom, quite simply. Maybe Goldilocks was Swedish because it means not too much, not too little, but just right. Oh. Lagom. Lagom. Because Goldilocks didn't want the porridge too hot, too cold, but just right. Lagom means just right.

So if you get something served and you say, how's it? Lagom. Yes. Just right. So if you get something served and you say, how's it? Lagom. Yes. Just right. I love it. Now, this is from another book actually called Toujours Tingo, written by Adam Jaco de Moineau, which sounds like an anagram if ever there was one. But he published a book called Toujours Tingo, which was just this.

It was about words that exist in foreign languages, which we might find quite useful. Just this, it was about words that exist in foreign languages, which we might find quite useful. Tingo itself actually means borrowing items from a friend's house one by one until there's absolutely nothing left. Oh, that's funny. But another one from Tagalog, the language of Tagalog, is Leogenic. Now, Leogenic is basically describes somebody, this is very mean, so I apologise in advance, somebody who from afar looks rather attractive, but close up, not so much. Now, I remember on University Challenge,

Jeremy Paxman actually asking the question, University Challenge being a very British tradition, really. It's a quiz show for university undergraduates in Britain. And he asked the question of the students there. He said, what does Bob Fock mean? What does the acronym Bob Fock mean? And it means body off Baywatch, face off Crimewatch. Oh, no.

That's awful. That is terrible. And what is the word for somebody who looks... Leogenic. Yeah, leogenic means they look great at a distance. That actually sounds nice, doesn't it? But as it gets closer and closer. And what is Talalog? Where does that come from? Tagalog. Leogenic. They're leogenic. It means they look great at a distance. That actually sounds nice, doesn't it? But as it gets closer and closer. And what is Talalog?

Where does that country come from? Tagalog. Tagalog. Is that an invented, is it like? It's not an invented language. Who speaks Tagalog? Well, I think it's the Philippines. Do I have this right?

Yes, it's Austronesian. And it's a first language spoken by a quarter of the population of the Philippines. So in the Philippines, they speak Tagalog. And they have, say that word again, I love it so much. Leogenic. Leogenic. Yes, and it's one of those great things that actually sound nice, but well, it's rather like the definition, isn't it? I know, it's a wonderful word. It's probably not politically correct nowadays because you can't make personal remarks. No, although it's not gendered, so it could be, you know, could be applied to any gender at all.

Yeah, no, but I mean, it's personal, isn't it? I agree, I agree. Say somebody looked cute at a distance and then they come face to face and think, ugh. No, I agree. It's horrible. As they approach you go, ah. As they come closer you go, ooh. Yeah, not nice. Let's forget that one. I just thought it was quite funny, but you're right.

So I did say that there are many more gaps in English that we once amply filled. If you look in the dictionary, there were actually words for these things. And I'm not talking about words for things that, words that we didn't even know existed, like the aglet. Do you know what an aglet is? No idea. An aglet is that little plastic tube at the end of a shoelace. Oh, how wonderful. That's an aglet.

Oh. Do you know what? Oh, I always take away something very special from Something Rhymes with Purple, and today I'm taking away an aglet. Oh. Do you know what? I always take away something very special from something rhymes with purple, and today I'm taking away an aglet. Aglet. Do you know what the philtrum is? The philtrum? No.

I love this. It comes from the Greek for love potion, and the philtrum is that little dent at the top of your lip. Oh, is it P-H? P-H-I-L-T-R-U-M. That's how I got it. When you're saying love potion, maybe you think of a love filter, P-H-I-L-T-R-E.

So a philtrum, P-H-I. The little indentation beneath your nose, between the lip and the nose, is a philtrum. Philtrum. Whereas the glabella is that little bit between your eyes at the top of the nose. The glabella. The glabella. You see, this is what love poetry has lacked all these years. Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thy philtrum is ever so pretty. So I'll give you a few more, if you like. For example, this is just very pithy. To hiss a poor performer off the stage, which is clearly what happened to you when you played Hamlet, is exsibilate. Exsibilate. To exsibilate someone.

That's very good. To banish them. And they're all linked into the word, which is completely incidental and not a foreign word, but to explode goes back to the Romans word ex, off, plaudere, clap, as in applaud, plaudits, et cetera, because they would boo and hiss somebody off the stage very, very loudly and make such a noise that we took the word explode from exploderate to make a very loud noise and eventually to detonation. So poor Roman actors would be exploded off the Roman stage.

But also they could be hissed off, which would be? Exhibulated. Exhibulated. Yes. Exactly. Exhibulated. I like this one from the 1700s, flobbly mobbly. Flobbly mobbly? Flobbly mobbly. Neither well Exhibit. I like this one from the 1700s. Flobbly mobbly.

Flobbly mobbly? Flobbly mobbly. Neither well nor unwell. Oh, I like that. So rather than just saying, I'm all right, thanks, just say I'm a bit flobbly mobbly. I love that one. Now, this is a useful one in my house. Huffle buffs.

Huffle buffs. Huffle buffs are the old scruffy clothes that are perfect for lounging around in. So the sort of kind that you get into on a Friday evening and don't get out of until Monday morning. Is that what goes on in your house? Oh, yeah. You're joking, I hope. Everyone's got a pair of Hufflepuffs. Hufflepuffs?

Yes. I know that sort of thing goes on. Clearly not. You have ironed pyjamas, I know it. Not ironed by you either, I'm guessing. Double-breasted. Yes, absolutely. With turnips.

And, okay, two more for you. Double-breasted. Yes, absolutely. With turnips. And, okay, two more for you. Quafftide. Quafftide. You've probably guessed what this one is. Something to do with drinking. Yes.

Quafftide is the hour or season when it's time for a drink. Oh, it's Quafftide. You can declare it's Quafftide. And finally, I bet you didn't know there was a word for coughing and breaking wind

at the same time. Well, it's so unfortunate when that happens. Though in some ways, it's quite useful when it happens because maybe the cough covers the breaking of the wind. Maybe. What is that called? I call it the double whammy. Again, it's just pithy. It's not particularly interesting, but it's a thorough cough. It goes back to the 1600s. Can I say it is interesting?

A thorough cough. A thorough cough. Yes, the one where you eliminate everything, basically. Absolutely. Almost everything, anyway. From one end to the other. A cough and a fart at the same time is a thorough cough. A thorough cough.

I love it. Yes. I don't like people who do it, though. I'm against all of that. Okay. Especially from the cheap. I'm totally against that. Yeah.

I'll give you my Excibilate story. Okay. And then you can give us our trio for today. Okay. Yes. My Excibilate story and then you can give us our trio for today My Excibilate story Excibilate is hissing somebody off the stage A poor performer, specifically There was a famous actress called Gladys Cooper

Dame Gladys Cooper and Dame Gladys Cooper was a British actress she was in Hollywood, she was in movies as well and for many years she ran the Playhouse Theatre in London and she had a sister called Sissy. And Sissy Cooper was both her understudy and her lady's maid, her dresser. And one night, Sissy Cooper had to go onto the stage because the person playing a part in the play was ill. And Sissy Cooper had this very small part. I think she was playing a maid in the play, starring her sister, Gladys Cooper. And she'd never really bought want onto the stage before. And she was terrified. And she went across the stage. And as she went across the stage,

she heard the audience hissing. And she thought, this is my first appearance and they're hissing me. They're hissing me. It's too awful for words. And she came into the wings and burst into tears. And it was the matinee. She had to do it again in the evening. Again, the hissing, terrible hissing. When she walked across the stage, she was in such a state of distress. So the third performance, she said, I'm not doing it again, I'm not doing it again.

They said, please do it one more time, and we will go to the audience and see what's going on. And she came on, and again, there was the hissing. But they weren't hissing her. Members of the audience were turning to one another, seeing her come onto the stage, and saying to one another, that's Sissy Cooper, Gladys Cooper's sister. Sissy Cooper, Gladys Cooper's sister, Sissy Cooper, Gladys Cooper's sister.

And it sounded like a hiss. True story. And nowhere are you hearing a theatrical anecdote quite like that, except on Something Rhymes With Purple. reason you listen is because you want to know Susie Dent's trio, those three extraordinary words that once you pop them into your vocabulary will enrich it and will make your conversation more enjoyable. What have you got today? Well, I'm going to start with the one that I promised a little bit earlier, which is the opposite of schadenfreude. So the opposite of pleasure in somebody else's misfortune, and that is pleasure in someone else's happiness. And it's one of my all time favourite words. and i think of it every christmas and in fact many occasions throughout the year pleasure and someone else's happiness

is con felicity oh i love it that beautiful con felicity and it is felicity is happiness which is why it means with which is why often cats are called felix because they bring you happiness con for now it means with so it means with. So it means sharing happiness. So it means sharing with the joy of others. Yes. Oh, lovely. I love that. Staying with foreign words because we're talking about minding the gaps. Panapo.

Panapo. Could be panapo. Panapo as in panachocola? No. P-A-N-A. This is from Hawaiian. P-A-N-A. And then P-O apostrophe O.

Ah, panapo. And panaporophe O. Ah, panapo. And panapoing, or, yeah, panapoing, I think is the way you pronounce it, means to scratch your head in the effort to remember something you've forgotten. Oh, it's lovely. As in Lauren Hardy, whichever one did that. Yeah, that's true. That was Laurel. Yeah.

Ah, did you see the film? Did you see Stan and Ollie? Did you see Stan and Ollie? No. Oh, it's delightful. It's amazing. It's really, really enjoyable. Yeah.

No, I have heard. I would see that. It is very, very good. So that is my third, my second one. Panapo. So that's when you're, I'm doing it now. Yeah. It's easy for me to do. Where did I leave my car keys?

That kind of thing. And my, what should I choose as my third one? I think I'm going to choose the word. I must tell the listeners, she's actually doing a little bit of a panopo as she tries to remember what her third one's going to be. No, I'm just being spontaneous. And again, it's very, very useful for something that we all do. You might not know that there was actually a term for it. And that's groking.

G-R-O-A-K-I-N-G. O-A-K-I-N-G. Now, to grok is to look enviously at somebody else's food in the hope they might share it with you. Oh. All dogs do it. If there are any chips around, all humans do it. It's groking. There is a word for it.

This happens all the time. Every meal I'm at, I sit down, my wife's food is served, and then I do this looking at her and think, all right, we will swap. Because hers always looks better. She's now taking to ordering what she thinks I will like and hopes that I will order what she will like. Because you're a croaker. I always knew it. So I've

been a secret croaker without knowing what it was. But what's so sweet about her is I feel there's a kind of confelicity. I agree. Because I sit there, scratching my head, doing a little bit of panapoing. Panapoing. Panapoing. I've enjoyed the confelicity of our company.

I have too. If you've enjoyed us, please write a review, whatever you download your podcast from. Give us a rating, if it's a nice one. And tell your friends. If not, well, there you go. You can't win them all.

But it's been fun for us. We're doing Something Rhymes with Purple. Let's do some more. Let's do some more. Something Rhymes with Purple is a Something Else production. It was produced by Paul Smith with additional production

from Russell Finch, Steve Ackerman and Josh Gibbs.