Oftentimes it takes a non-English word or phrase to capture exactly what you want to say or how something or someone makes you feel.  The sixties is the time to pinpoint the emotion, the attitude, or the thought.

Here are a few of the best:

• l’espirit d’escalier, for example. Literally: “the spirit of the staircase”— This phrase refers to that feeling of frustration you experience when, after the opportunity is past, you think of the perfect thing to say in an artument or debate.
• carita pelosa (Italian): Generosity with an ulterior motive
• shibui (Japanese): Beauty of aging
• cavoli reiscaldat (Italian: Attempt to revive an old relationship
• Torschlusspanik (German): Fear of being left out
• Feierabend (German): Festive frame of mind at the end of the day

Categories: observations