An uninformed diner may get a surprise if they’re expecting a decadent dessert by ordering “sweetbreads.” What is this dish if it’s not sweet or bread?
The word “sweetbread” may evoke images of a delicious pastry coated with icing, sugar, and plenty of sprinkles. But in reality, sweetbreads aren’t much of an after-dinner treat. These culinary delicacies are uncommon in the United States, but they’re popular throughout parts of Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. Sweetbreads aren’t to everyone’s taste, though, so here’s a little explainer before you order them off the menu.
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The term “sweetbreads” refers to two glands harvested from calves or lambs — the thymus, near the throat, and the pancreas, near the stomach. Both are edible when cooked and have a mildly mineral, slightly sweet flavor. To prepare them to be eaten, sweetbreads are usually soaked in water or milk, blanched, and then grilled or fried before being topped with lemon and a garnish.
The first written record of the word is in the 1578 English book The Historie of Man. Author John Banister described the thymus as the “most pleasant to be eaten … the sweete bread.” In this context, “bread” didn’t refer to baked goods; it was a variant of the Old Englishbræd, meaning “animal flesh.”
As for Banister’s use of the word “sweete,” he likely meant in comparison to other parts of the animal. While sweetbreads aren’t dessert-sweet, they have a sweeter and more delicate flavor compared to other organ meats such as kidney and liver. If you’re in the mood for an adventurous eating experience, sweetbreads may be worth trying. Just be aware of what you’re ordering, because it certainly isn’t anything close to a decadent cake.
Featured image credit: Kristi Blokhin/ Shutterstock
Bennett Kleinman is a New York City-based staff writer for Optimism. He is also a freelance comedy writer, devoted New York Yankees and New Jersey Devils fan, and thinks plain seltzer is the best drink ever invented.
If you’re a fan of TV’s How I Met Your Mother, then you’re aware that “nothing good happens after 2 a.m.” The show’s writers may have been onto something, as popular beliefs pin the “witching hour” toone hour later at 3 a.m. (or midnight, depending on which traditions you’re following). Does this phrase evoke images of women flying through the air on broomsticks and turning children into mice using their magical powers? *Insert spooky noises here* Yes, the origins of the phrase bring us to stories of witchcraft, but parents of young children also use “witching hour” to refer to a stretch of early evening when babies seem more prone to crying. And stock traders will be familiar with the term as the last hour of trading in each month — the market is especially volatile during that time period.
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But back to the magical witches. Around 1600, William Shakespeare wrote a soliloquy in Hamlet that included the line, “‘Tis now the very witching time of night.” This denoted the first known use of a phrase similar to “witching hour.” Elizabeth Carolina Keene then penned the specific pairing of the words with the line “Tis the baleful witching hour” in the 1762 poem “Nightmare.” The term held onto its literary presence through the end of the 20th century with the publication of Anne Rice’s 1990 supernatural horror novel, The Witching Hour.
While it may be used for babies and stock markets, it still primarily refers to an hour of the night/early morning when supernatural events are more likely to occur. But there’s a debate about when exactly the witching hour takes place. Many people think it falls between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., a belief that’s rooted in religious history. Biblical scholars posit that Jesus Christ died at 3 p., and in turn, 3 a.m. became known as the “devil’s hour” — a term that evolved into “witching hour.” Other traditions claim the witching hour begins at midnight, but in essence they all agree on the same thing: The witching hour is when supernatural and mysteriously diabolical events take place while shrouded in darkness.
Bennett Kleinman is a New York City-based staff writer for Optimism. He is also a freelance comedy writer, devoted New York Yankees and New Jersey Devils fan, and thinks plain seltzer is the best drink ever invented.
If I ended a phone call with you with the sign-off “roger that,” you may think to yourself, “Who’s Roger and why is he so important?” I could be talking about tennis legend Roger Federer; Roger Moore, former James Bond star; or Roger Rabbit, who was 100% innocent, by the way. But “roger that” isn’t referring to a person named Roger at all. It’s a reference to the NATO phonetic alphabet and old-school radio communications in the United States.
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You may have heard “roger” is an acronym for “received order given, expect results,” but that’s a myth, and the actual meaning is far simpler. “Roger that” dates back to the early 1940s, when “Roger” was used in place of the letter “R” in the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet. It was nicknamed the Able Baker alphabet after its first code words. In radio communications, using the code word “Roger” indicated a message had been received loud and clear. While “Roger” was replaced by “Romeo” in the NATO phonetic alphabet that was adopted in 1956, many two-way radio users still say “Roger” for the same reason that it’s always been used.
According toDictionary.com, “Roger” became widely used after public broadcasts of NASA’s Apollo missions of the 1960s, when the term was used during radio communications between mission control and the astronauts. The public began using “Roger” as a verb, noun, and interjection, all of which meant that something was understood. So, when someone says “roger that,” you know that they’ve heard the message clearly and concisely.
Bennett Kleinman is a New York City-based staff writer for Optimism. He is also a freelance comedy writer, devoted New York Yankees and New Jersey Devils fan, and thinks plain seltzer is the best drink ever invented.
The term “pipe dream” may sound like the title of a Blue Man Group song or what the Nintendo character Mario thinks about while he’s sleeping, but according to Merriam-Webster, it refers to “an illusory or fantastic plan, hope, or story.” Let’s say that someone who has never been in a movie wants to earn fame as an Oscar-winning actor, or someone who has never played a sport has dreams of being an all-star athlete. While both of these goals are possible, they’re also improbable, and are thus considered pipe dreams.
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This turn of phrase originated in the late 19th century, though at the time, it had a provocative connotation. It came from the dreamlike state people would fall into after smoking an opium pipe (the 1800s version of opiates). People who smoked opium often experienced hallucinations, and the thoughts in that trance were called “pipe dreams.”
The first-known usage of this phrase in print is in the 1870 bookTales of Life and Death by Grantley F. Berkeley, when a feverish character recalls “last night’s pipe-dream.” Skipping into the mainstream just a few decades later, in 1890, theChicago Daily Tribune reported how aerial navigation “has been regarded as a pipe-dream for a good many years.” However, in this case, the pipe dream became a reality with the Wright brothers’ first flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903.
Today, the term rarely refers to drug use, as many countries around the world have long outlawed opium. Instead, “pipe dream” is simply an expression of the unlikely hope that someone’s far-fetched dreams will come true. However, stranger things have happened, and it’s sometimes worth keeping a cherished pipe dream alive.
Featured image credit: Bjoern Wylezich/ Shutterstock
Bennett Kleinman is a New York City-based staff writer for Optimism. He is also a freelance comedy writer, devoted New York Yankees and New Jersey Devils fan, and thinks plain seltzer is the best drink ever invented.
To older generations, younger generations often sound like they’re speaking an alien tongue. “Skibidi” could very well be the name of a far-off planet, while “delulu” could be the name of a comet streaking through the sky. (The former is a Generation Alpha nonsense word that comes from internet memes, and the latter is Generation Z’s way of saying “delusional.”) But some terms have transcended the generational divides. Take, for example, “rizz,” which is such a popular slang term that the Oxford University Press named it the 2023 word of the year. If you missed this word’s rise to the top, we’ll explain. It’s a shortened version of a familiar word: “charisma. “Rizz” is pulled from the middle syllable of “charisma,” much like “flu” is part of “influenza.”
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Oxford’s honor has seemingly given license for the mainstream to use “rizz,” but it started in the Gen Z lexicon. If a Gen Zer (someone born between 1997 and 2012) claims that someone has rizz, it’s a pretty major compliment, as they’re suggesting that a person is stylish and charming. “Rizz” is often used specifically in the context of attracting romantic partners. Often, having rizz transcends physical appearance, as a person with rizz is said to be more successful at dating people who would normally be deemed “out of their league.”
This catchy word’s popularity soared in 2022, thanks in part to internet streamer Kai Cenat, who used it during Twitch broadcasts. (Twitch is a streaming platform often used for video games.) Usage of “rizz” exploded from there, and soon it was everywhere on TikTok and spreading far beyond high school cafeterias and Gen Z exchanges. What youthful slang will we adopt from Gen Z (or even Gen Alpha) next?
Bennett Kleinman is a New York City-based staff writer for Optimism. He is also a freelance comedy writer, devoted New York Yankees and New Jersey Devils fan, and thinks plain seltzer is the best drink ever invented.
The nicknames for sandwiches are almost as numerous as the toppings they can be served with. Let’s dish up some of America’s favorite regional sandwich slang.
Walking up to the deli counter is a lot like an artist approaching a blank canvas — there are few limits to your creativity. But whether you’re the Picasso of provolone or the Caravaggio of cured meats, there are so many names for sandwiches, you might freeze when your number is called. The general term “sandwich” originated in 1762, as an eponym referring to John Montagu, the Fourth Earl of Sandwich, who enjoyed eating meat between sliced bread during his marathon gambling sessions. In the late 19th century, Italian-inspired sandwiches made with long pieces of bread became particularly popular throughout the United States. These were known as “submarine” sandwiches to many, though various regions have developed their own slang for these tasty lunchtime staples. Here are the backstories behind a few of those terms.
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Submarine
The term “submarine” is perhaps the most widely used sandwich slang in the U.S., at least according to a Harvard Dialect Survey. The origins of this term are simple: The long pieces of bread resemble the shape of a submarine boat. According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the first usage of this slang dates to 1931 in the Paterson Evening News, and delis across the country began advertising “subs” soon after.
Grinder
“Grinder” is common sandwich slang among residents of New England. The roots of this term are disputed, but one origin story is nautical in nature: “Grinders” was a term used to refer to the Italian American dockworkers who enjoyed snacking on these long sandwiches during their lunch hour. However, a more probable origin story has to do with the nature of the food itself. “Grinder” might refer to the act of grinding your teeth to bite into the thick bread and copious amounts of cold cuts loaded onto the sandwich.
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Hoagie
As we descend down the Northeast Corridor, we arrive in Philadelphia, where the term “hoagie” was conceived. One of the prevailing origin stories for this word is also nautical in nature: There was a World War I-era shipyard in south Philly called Hog Island, where workers enjoyed eating “hoggies” — a name that evolved into “hoagie.” Another, perhaps more reputable origin story is that the name originated in the 1930s at a sandwich shop owned by jazz musician Al DePalma. He made sandwiches so large that a friend commented that only a hog could finish one. In turn, DePalma began calling the sandwiches “hoggies,” though his customers pronounced them more like “hoagies” (which makes sense if you imagine “hoggie” said with a thick Philly accent).
Hero
The term “hero sandwich” is primarily used around New York City. In the 1930s, Clementine Paddleford — food columnist for the New York Herald Tribune — wrote about a sandwich so large that “you had to be a hero to eat it.” From there, the name “hero” stuck.
Wedge
“Wedge” is a hyperspecific slang term used by residents of Westchester County, New York, and nearby Fairfield County, Connecticut. Some say “wedge” refers to the diagonal knife cut made in the middle of the sandwich, while others claim it’s tied to wedging all of the ingredients between two slices of bread. Still others assert that the term was coined at Landi’s Deli in the town of Yonkers. “Wedge” — or a similar sound — was purportedly used by the Landi family as a truncated version of the word “sandwich.”
Spukie
“Spukie” is a Boston-area term based on the Italian word spuccadella, which is a long roll. This is particularly popular in the Italian-heavy neighborhoods in the southern part of the city, and you’re unlikely to hear “spukie” from anyone outside of Boston.
Poor Boy
“Poor boy” is the longer nickname for the sandwich also known as a “po’boy.” The poor boy sandwich originated in 1929 during a streetcar strike in New Orleans. It was created at Martin Brothers’ French Market and Coffee Stand, whose proprietors were former streetcar workers themselves. Whenever a striking worker entered the eatery, one owner would call out to another, “Here comes another poor boy!” The term was quickly adopted by the residents of New Orleans and shortened to just “po’boy.” A New Orleans-style po’boy can have any variety of fillings (fried shrimp and fried oysters are popular), and fully dressed includes lettuce, tomato, pickles, hot sauce, and mayo. The crucial ingredient, however, is the bread. To qualify as a po’boy, the sandwich must be served on fresh French bread.
Bennett Kleinman is a New York City-based staff writer for Optimism. He is also a freelance comedy writer, devoted New York Yankees and New Jersey Devils fan, and thinks plain seltzer is the best drink ever invented.
Why do actors tell each other to break bones before a performance? It’s not malicious — the idiom “break a leg” has roots going back to ancient Greece.
Telling someone to “break a leg” is another way of saying “good luck” — unless they’re especially clumsy, in which case we’d suggest an idiom that’s less likely to jinx them. You may wonder, though, how a phrase that sounds so menacing on the surface can have such a positive connotation. While the origins are murky, there are a few popular theories behind why we say “break a leg” as an encouraging expression.
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The most common belief is that the phrase originated in the theatrical community, which is known for its superstitions. Actors worry that the simplest thing can bring about bad luck, such as saying “Macbeth” in a theater (it’s called “The Scottish Play” instead), whistling backstage, or, indeed, wishing a fellow performer “good luck.” Instead, many actors use the term “break a leg” as an ironic way of wishing other actors well. The exact start of this practice is unknown, but it was noted in a 1921 edition of TheNew Statesman in an essay called “A Defence of Superstition” by Irish writer Robert Wilson Lynd. He said the best way to wish luck was through an opposite sentiment, such as saying, “May you break a leg.”
Another purported, albeit unlikely, origin story involves audience reactions to live performances in both ancient Greece and the Elizabethan era. The Greeks were said to stomp their feet instead of clapping, while Elizabethans would bang their chairs on the ground to express praise. Ferocious stomping meant they enjoyed the performance all the more. So, people may have begun saying “break a leg” in the hopes of generating a response powerful enough to risk snapping both human and chair legs.A nontheatrical origin story involves the German phrase Hals- und Beinbruch! — literally translated as “may you break your neck and your leg!” The Oxford English Dictionary cites this use around 1900 in a hunting context, then 1913 in a theatrical context, but lexicographers note there’s not a strong connection for influence on the English idiom and theatrical usage.
Bennett Kleinman is a New York City-based staff writer for Optimism. He is also a freelance comedy writer, devoted New York Yankees and New Jersey Devils fan, and thinks plain seltzer is the best drink ever invented.
“Something wicked this way comes…” Shakespeare transformed Elizabethan ideas of ghosts, witches, and other spooky beings into perpetual Halloween traditions.
Halloween entertainment is brimming with images of warty witches and bubbling cauldrons (we love the Sanderson sisters in Hocus Pocus), and ghosts both friendly and not haunt our dreams and our screens throughout spooky season. (Uttering the name of a certain green-haired ghost — Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice… Beetlejuice! — might send chills down your spine.) But otherworldly beings began captivating audiences long before blockbuster films offered thrills and chills. Let’s go back to a time when a certain English playwright was transforming ghoulish stereotypes onstage. Over 400 years ago, Shakespeare unwittingly crafted several Halloween traditions that still haunt us today.
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Wicked Witches
“Double, double toil and trouble; / Fire burn and caldron bubble…”
You might be able to chant this eerie couplet from memory without realizing it came from the Bard. It appeared in Macbeth Act IV, the “Song of the Witches.” In addition to providing these spooky lines, this section contributes much to our modern interpretation of witches.
Macbeth’s titular character receives a shocking prophecy from three witches: He will become king of Scotland. The 17th-century play was published around the height of Scotland’s devastating witch trials, so it makes sense that Macbeth’s downfall was initiated by a chance encounter with three “Weyward Sisters.” Many editions call them “Weird Sisters,” but the meaning of “weird” is not as we use it today as a synonym for “odd” or “quirky.” Instead, “weird” is a synonym for “supernatural” or “otherworldly.”
Shakespeare transformed the imagery of witches through their depiction in Macbeth. The witch trials (in Scotland and in the colonies) stoked fears that witches were hiding as everyday women, casting spells in the midst of the community. The Weird Sisters are humanlike, but their physical appearance is chilling and sinister, with deep wrinkles of the “chappy finger.” The “Song of the Witches” passage also introduced the imagery of a bubbling caldron, to which the sisters add “Eye of newt and toe of frog, / Wool of bat and tongue of dog, / Adder’s fork and blind-worm’s sting, / Lizard’s leg and howlet’s wing…” Believed by some to be a real spell, these verses left a lasting impact on the perception of how witches cast spells and the unsavory objects they use to do so.
Shakespeare’s witchy imagery is far-reaching. Consider: “By the pricking of my thumbs / Something wicked this way comes…” Said by the second witch in Macbeth, this famous phrase refers to the old-fashioned superstition of tucking the thumb into the palm to protect against supernatural entities. Like so many Shakespearean lines, it has become a stand-alone expression. Author Ray Bradbury borrowed part of it for the title of his 1962 dark fantasy novel, Something Wicked This Way Comes.
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Owls and Omens
Owls were a symbol of wisdom and prophecy in ancient Greece, but their benign reputations darkened in Renaissance England. The association with prophecy took on sinister undertones, and according to the Bard of Avon, these birds of prey are nefarious.
Owls (or “howlets” as they are called in the “Song of the Witches”) are harbingers of bad luck in many of Shakespeare’s works. The owl plays a vital role as an evil omen in Macbeth: “It was the owl that shrieked, the fatal bellman, / Which gives the stern’st good-night. He is about it.” The “fatal bellman” is a reference to the custom of a “passing bell” to ring when someone in town was close to death.
Similarly, in Act IV of Richard III, when the titular character receives bad news on the battlefield, he exclaims, “Out on you, owls! Nothing but songs of death.” Thus, owls’ close association with death was firmly established.
Ghastly Ghosts
Shakespeare pushed the ghostly envelope and changed the way people imagine spirit apparitions. In pre-Elizabethan literature, ghosts were typically described as orbs of light without a discernible shape — and certainly no human characteristics. Shakespeare’s ghosts were markedly different. For the first time, spirits were purported to appear much like their previous human forms.
Characters such as Brutus, Macbeth, Hamlet, and Richard III are plagued by these familiar spirits. Imagery of ghosts lurking about a graveyard in A Midsummer Night’s Dream or shrieking through the streets in Julius Caesar created new ideas of what ghosts ought to be. InJulius Caesar, the famous Roman general’s ghost appears in his likeness, immediately recognizable to startled characters. “The ghost of Caesar hath appeared to me / Two several times by night — at Sardis once…”
Perhaps the most influential Shakespearean ghost is Hamlet’s father, who directs Hamlet to avenge his murder by killing his uncle, Claudius. The ghost reveals himself to his son in Act I ofHamlet:
“I am thy father’s spirit, / Doomed for a certain term to walk the night / And for the day confined to fast in fires / Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature / Are burnt and purged away…”
Had Hamlet’s father appeared as an orb of light and not a king suited in armor, would it have had such a profound impact on audiences — or the plot? Likely not. Shakespeare crafted his supernatural characters so compellingly that over 400 years later, we still imagine them in much the same way he did.
Rachel is a Washington, D.C.-based freelance writer. When she's not writing, you can find her wandering through a museum, exploring a new city, or advocating the importance of the Oxford comma.
Halloween parties give even the most timid wallflower a chance to put on a new persona and become the life of the party. Between the “Monster Mash” and the costume contests lies the art of good (spooky) conversation. Brush up on these chilling words and their histories so you can impress the witches, zombies, and superheroes alike with your knowledge of the language of Halloween.
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Haunt
The verb “haunt” might call to mind a crumbling mansion with ghosts and evil spirits wandering cobwebbed hallways. But for centuries, “haunt” was more neutral, and implied just visiting a place often. Around the 1500s, the ghostly connotation crept in, and “haunt” began to reference distress and harm. A nice walk through a haunted house on Halloween is just what the mad scientist ordered.
Ghost
The word “ghost” has been in use for at least a thousand years, and as a noun it originally referred to someone’s vital spark or intelligence. Eventually the usage morphed into the souls of the dead. The Old English spelling was both gost and gast (the root of “ghastly”), but it turned into “ghost” by the end of the 16th century. This was also when the usage as a spiritual soul of someone, distinct from the physical nature, came into use. The usage of “ghost” to mean “an apparition, a spectre, a phantom, often haunting a specific location” has been in use since at least the 12th century, but it was not the primary usage until a few centuries ago.
The most modern usage of “ghosting” refers to disappearing from someone’s life (usually romantic relationships) without a trace, but the word has been used as a verb for centuries. In the 17th century, Shakespeare used “ghosted” in Julius Caesar to describe Brutus hanging around a location. Another usage, going back to the 17th century, uses “ghost” to refer to someone being an annoying presence. A more modern usage refers to smooth, gliding movement, perhaps in the manner of a ghost. A 2020 Guardian article referenced an athlete as such: “He dribbled past five England players before ghosting away from Shilton.”
If you spot a specter draped in a sheet at your Halloween party, charm them with your etymological knowledge of this ancient term.
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Vampire
The myth of the bloodthirsty undead preying on the living dates back to ancient Greece, meaning it’s older than the word to refer to the aforementioned undead, “vampire.” The original name of the creepy creature came from Eastern Europe, where Serbian stories about the vampir were popular in the early 18th century. “Vampire” was popularized in English through late 19th-century Gothic novels (Dracula by Bram Stoker was published in 1897) and has been sucking our blood ever since. The “vampire” bat moniker was given to a species of South American bloodsucking bat by a biologist in 1774, and the term “vamp,” referring to a seductive woman, was coined in the early 20th century.
Banshee
Originally a Gaelic word meaning “woman of the fairyland,” this fanciful term acquired a dark turn through its lore. In legends, banshees are the spirits of women who scream outside the windows of doomed households. If you heard one wail, you would know someone in your home would die before daybreak.
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Goblin
Over the centuries, “goblin” has come to represent a creature more mischievous than monstrous. The word comes either from the Greek kobalos, which is a mischievous sprite, or the German Kobold, which is a spirit that haunts houses and lives underground in caves or mines. The goblin representation in myths and literature exists anywhere on the scale from playful and full of pranks, to ugly yet harmless, to menacingly evil.
Specter
Meaning “a visible disembodied spirit,” the word “specter” is rooted in the Latin spectrum, which means “image or apparition.” The verb form is specere, which means “to look.” Many English words pertaining to appearance have come from the same verb: “spectacle,” “inspect,” and “conspicuous,” to name a few. Specters can also be ghostly, fearsome visions conjured by the imagination. Or are those just Halloween decorations?
Wraith
Historically, a wraith is the replica of a living person appearing as a specter to foreshadow something bad, like that person’s death. (The wraith might also appear directly after someone’s death.) An old synonym for the ghostly appearance of a living person is “doppelgänger,” but now this German loanword is more commonly used for someone who looks exactly like another individual. Perhaps you’ll find your doppelgänger at a party if you dress up as Carmy from The Bear or the witch Agatha Harkness.
Ghoul
Although it shares letters with the Old English words ghost and ghastly, “ghoul” didn’t enter the language until the 1700s. The word was introduced to the West by the translation of One Thousand and One Nights (sometimes known as Arabian Nights) into French. In the book, the Arabic word ġūl was used to describe an evil being who robbed graves and ate corpses.
Jennifer A. Freeman is the Senior Editor of Word Smarts and Word Daily. When she's not searching for a perfect synonym or reaching "Genius" level on Spelling Bee, she's playing with her Welsh Terrier in Greenville, SC.
It’s the time of year when doorsteps are decorated with jack-o’-lanterns and spiderwebs, and shopping carts fill with candy in preparation for trick-or-treaters. While American children and adults embrace the modern Halloween spirit, the roots of ghostly words come from cultures around the world. Get into the Halloween spirit with these spooktacular words.
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What Goes Bump in the Night?
Ghosts go by many names. In English, “phantasm” means “a figment of the imagination,” but in Spanish, fantasma refers to a ghost, and in Haitian-Creole, the spooky figure is a fantom. Maybe they’re all figments of the imagination, but they’re easy to find in fictional stories. Ghosts can be portrayed as kind as Casper, or as more malevolent. In Germany, a Poltergeist will make a noisy entrance by moving objects around a room; in Northern England, the boisterous creatures are called “boggarts.”
The word “zombie” has a few possible origins: Jumbie is the West Indian word for “ghost,” and Nzambi is the supreme deity (and ruler of death) in Kongo spirituality. The Haitian-Creole dialect also has zombi, which has roots in Haitian vodou folklore. Unlike in modern zombie stories, which often employ technology or a virus to create the undead, a bokor (a sorcerer) could create a zombie by controlling an individual’s spirit. (They were actually anesthetizing and paralyzing people through animal- and plant-derived neurotoxins.) While the word “zombie” may come from distinct cultures, it was the 1968 movie Night of the Living Dead that popularized the modern idea of an undead creature who moves robotically and seeks human flesh.
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For other creatures of the night, multiple languages use similar words to identify them. Both Hungarian and German use vampir/Vampir to describe bloodsucking monsters, and the French use vampyre. And while many languages have versions of “werewolf”(or werwolf), Spanish-speaking countries know these creatures as hombre-lobos. Portuguese speakers call them lobisomem.
Cryptid Sightings
Cryptids, or creatures that science hasn’t been able to prove exist, go by many different names around the world. Perhaps the most famous example is the Scottish “Nessie,” the Loch Ness monster. Said to resemble a dinosaur with a long neck, it supposedly has flippers and can breathe underwater. Written references and supposed Nessie sightings date back to the seventh century. But Scotland isn’t the only country to have a lake monster legend. Argentina has Nahuelito, supposedlyliving in the Patagonian Mountains, with the same features as Nessie, down to the long neck.
Legends talk of cryptids on dry land. Bigfoot (also known as Sasquatchin Canada and the yetiin the Himalayas) is described as at least 8 feet tall and covered in hair — possibly half man, half ape.
Then there are regionally specific cryptids, such as the Jersey Devil,which comes from colonial New Jersey lore. Described as having horse hooves and the wings of a bat, the Jersey Devil popped up in stories when Deborah Leeds gave birth to her 13th child in the early 1700s and claimed that the baby was a child of the devil. Since then, countless New Jerseyans swear they’ve spotted the creature across the state.
Whether scientists back up the folklore or not, Halloween will likely bring many ghosts, zombies, werewolves, and Bigfoots to your doorstep — if only for trick-or-treating.
Jennifer A. Freeman is the Senior Editor of Word Smarts and Word Daily. When she's not searching for a perfect synonym or reaching "Genius" level on Spelling Bee, she's playing with her Welsh Terrier in Greenville, SC.
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