I've recently discovered a lovely new word: gluckschmerz. It's the opposite of schadenfraude and means, literally, pain at (another's) luck. It's what we might feel when the man next door wins the lottery.
One of the nice things about the MNW blog is that it lacks either schadenfreude or gluckschmerz. What a lovely bunch we are!
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The word deserves to be more widely known...
ReplyDeleteYes, Tim. I agree. Perhaps it's little known because no-one wants to admit to feeling it?
ReplyDeleteGore Vidal had no trouble admitting to it: "Every time a friend succeeds, I die a little."
ReplyDeleteI've always wondered what the success of his enemies did to the poor fellow...
David, I salute Vidal. At least he was honest!
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