chadenfreude: satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else's misfortune
(The word's origin is German; it's a combination of the German words for harm + joy).
Never in my life had I heard this word until last Friday night while watching Avenue Q, off-Broadway in New York City. Pretty funny show, by the way. There is an entire song about schadenfreude: (warning--it's not exactly a very kind or child-friendly song, but funny).
image via here
Then, not 2 days later, I read the word in The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. Here's the NY Times review of the award-winning book--I quite like it so far.
Has that ever happened to you? You hear or read a word for the first time, then promptly hear or read it again and again? I kind of love that phenomenon...and try to read some deeper meaning in it...I'm kinda romantic/superstitious like that...
Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische.
Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische.
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