because life doesn’t fit in a file folder

Tag: Inuit

Tingo Tuesday: Tell Me Your Iktsuarpok Moment

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It’s Tingo Tuesday!

The first Tuesday of each month, I share a word from The Meaning of Tingo & Other Extraordinary Words From Around the World by Adam Jacot de Boiod.

Today, I’m sharing an Inuit word.

You know that feeling of anticipation when you’re waiting for someone to show up at your house and how you keep going to see if they’re there yet?

The Inuit call that “iktsuarpok.”

I do that all the time!

And, to think, I just thought I was excited!

I love when other cultures have language for the actions and concepts for which we haven’t necessarily got the right words.

So where do you come in?

I’m so glad you asked!

In a moment, I’m going to ask you to leave me a comment.

In fact, you can leave multiple comments. Think of this as a contest you can enter as many times as you’d like.

Just make each entry a different comment.

I will pick the comment I love the most and the winner will get to follow in the shoes of my last winner, Pegoleg. See her over there in my sidebar? Isn’t she cute? Yeah, well she’s consistently funny, too. And prolific!

{I apologize for getting side-tracked, Peg-o. I’m giving you a foot-rub right now. Can you feel it? I knew that you could.}

Non-bloggers, I know you are feeling pouty. You’re like: “What about me? I don’t have a blog.” No worries! You can still win. I will highlight your name in bold and let everyone know how smart you are. Oh, and if you happen to be looking for a new job, you can add “uncanny ability to comment on words with no English equivilent” on your resumé. Feel free to direct prospective employers here. I will totally back you up.

Now, before you all jump ship and head over to Pegoleg’s place…

Tell me the last time you had a (real or fictional) IKTSUARPOK moment. What happened? Who were you waiting for? Was it worth the wait?

Tweet this twit @rasjacobson

Who's the "Derpy-est" One of All?

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Today I continue with Made-It-Up Mondays.

Every once in a while, I throw out a made-up word and ask you to a) define the word, and b) then use the word in a sentence that indicates how the word could be used.

Why? Because someone gave me the book The Meaning of Tingo: And Other Extraordinary Words from Around the World.

For example:

You know that feeling of anticipation when you are waiting for people to show up at your house and you keep wandering over to the window to check to see if they are there yet? Yeah, well, the Inuit call that “Iktsuarpok.”

We don’t really have a word for that in English, do we?

When I can’t find the right word on the word-shelf to fit my mood or predicament, I often just make one up.

The last time we did this the word was “castanurgle,“ and I created a poll to find out which answer readers thought was the best answer. Folks voted for Chrystal from The Spirit Within.  She said a castanurgle is “a dilemma for which there is no easy solution.”

Funny, I always thought a castanurgle was when you just so happened to be stuck in a castle with a case of the sniffles and you don’t have any tissues handy! Shows you what I know. 😉

Continuing alphabetically, this week, the made up word was:

DERPY

But then I learned DERPY is a real word! Kind of.

I mean, it’s in Urban dictionary! See definition HERE!

So, who’s the derpy one today?

I’m guess I’m revising things retroactively.

What’s the “derpy-est” thing you’ve done lately?

Like I sprayed perfume in my mouth this morning.

Also, I spit my mouthwash into the garbage can.

Also I wrote this blog about a word that isn’t a word that is a word.

Derp.