‘Zarf’, ‘Tartle’, ‘Collywobbles’, And Other Words For Things You Didn’t Even Know Had Names
Are you looking to impress someone in your next interview with your extensive vernacular, or perhaps you want to annoy all your friends by upping your vocabulary and using words no one knows?
Turns out there's a lot of things or feelings in this world that actually have names, even if you can't remember them. For instance, that's actually a term for not being able to remember the name of something — but what was it again?
Nibling
Not to be confused with nibbling when you're hungry but are too lazy to make yourself a real meal, a nibling is the non-gender specific term for a niece or nephew. Think sibling, but not.
Zugzwang
If you're someone who plays chess in the park on a Sunday afternoon, you might know this one. A zugzwang is when every possible move you could make will hurt you.
Aphthongs
Aphthongs is the word for all those silent letters in words that make the English language so confusing and difficult to learn. An example of an aphthong is the "gh" in the word knight or the first "h" in the word aphthong.
Phosphenes
Remember when you were a kid, and you'd close your eyes and then press your palms into your eyes so you could see stars or lights? It wasn't actually something only you did as a kid, and it has a name! Phosphenes is another name for that seeing stars effect.
Tartle
Do you struggle to remember people's names, and then when it comes time to address someone or introduce someone, you panic or hesitate because you can't remember the correct name? That's called tartle!
Kummerspeck
Kummerspeck is a German word that represents the weight you gain from emotional eating (did we really need a word to define this?) but more importantly, the translation of the word is grief bacon.
Interrobang
An interrobang is the name of the emphasis that happens when you put both a question mark and an exclamation point at the end of a sentence. Do you understand?!
Semordnilap
Before you take a guess, no, a semordnilap is not the name of a piece of furniture you can buy at IKEA. A semordnilap is a word that when the letters are reversed, it has a different meaning than when the word is read normally. For example, "desserts" is semordnilap because it means "stressed" when read backward, which is something we could never be if there's dessert.
Mamihlapinatapai
This one is a super complicated word for a situation that you've probably been in countless times. Mamihlapinatapai is when two people are in a situation where they're both hoping the other person will do something that they both want but neither want to do. So basically, its marriage.
Paresthesia
That pins and needles feeling you get when you sit on your foot too long and it falls asleep actually has a name. You know, the feeling in your foot that feels like static on the television but in your body? It's called paresthesia!
Scurryfunge
Scurryfunge is the manic panic cleaning you do before company is coming over when you don't want your guests to know what kind of squalor you live in on a daily basis.
Vorfreude
Vorfreude is basically the joy that comes before something joyful happens, so it's the feeling of anticipating a happy moment or event that's going to occur in the future. Confusing right?
Peladophobia
Peladophobia is both the fear of becoming bald, as well as the fear of bald people. So basically, if you're someone who is balding and also has peladophobia, it's a fear of yourself and also a fear of what you'll become? It's like fear inception.
Arachibutyrophobia
It's not a fear of crunchy peanut butter, but arachibutyrophobia is specifically the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth as you eat it. If you have a fear of long words as well as a fear of PB sticking to your mouth, you're out of luck.
Griffonage
While it sounds like the name of some fancy French dog breed, griffonage is actually just a fancy name for scribbling or illegible handwriting so if your doctor calls his writing chicken scratch, you know what to call it.
Defenestrate
Apparently it used to happen so much that they needed a word for it, because the term defenestrate or the act of defenestration means to throw someone out a window. If only we could deal with all our problems by throwing them out the window right?
Grawlix
Who or what is a grawlix you ask? Grawlix is the name for that string of symbols that artists use to represent swear words in comic strips or cartoons. Who knew there would even be a name for that?
Pentheraphobia
It turns out you're not being dramatic — despite what your wife may tell you. Having a fear of your mother-in-law is a legitimate fear, also known as pentheraphobia.
Smack
Yes, you already know that smack means you've hit someone, but did you also know that a smack refers to a group of jellyfish? Basically, don't mess with a crowd of jellyfish unless you want a smackdown.
Soceraphobia
Since there's a name for your debilitating fear of your mother-in-law, it would make sense that there's a name for a fear of your father-in-law too right? Soceraphobia is the fear of your spouse's father, so you can use that the next time you're supposed to go over for family dinner.
Petrichor
This has nothing to do with being petrified or with the Patronus charm. Petrichor is that distinct smell that occurs when it's rained after a long, dry period, often during the summer months.
Wamble
Apparently, growl or rumble wasn't sufficient enough to describe that hungry feeling in your stomach, because wamble is another word for when your stomach makes funny loud noises at inconvenient times.
Zarf
It sounds like it should represent the noise a dog makes when it throws up, but zarf is actually just a weird name for that piece of cardboard that keeps you from burning your hands on your morning coffee.
Collywobbles
You might confuse this feeling for the wambles, but collywobbles is another name for that feeling of butterflies in your stomach that comes with nerves or when you're feeling excited about something.
Mondegreen
Have you ever been singing along to one of your favorite songs, then one of your friends points out that you've got the lyrics completely wrong? That's what mondegreen is, a misheard song lyric.
Apricity
Apricity is a word that pretty much doesn't need to exist because there are plenty of other ways to talk about it, but it represents the warmth of the sun on a cold day. For the warmth of the sun on a warm day, you're on your own. We can't help you.
