Thursday, May 19, 2011

What is weltenschmertz?


Search
: weltenschmertz def, weltschmerz

Why: Just read this live Tweeting of a blind date by BoobsRadley (from 16 hours ago):
  • You guys, if I promise never to livetweet anything again, please let me livetweet the bad first date happening next to me at this bar.
  • Okay. She just explained what Yelp is. He is trying to explain why hunting is still great if you don't eat what you kill.
  • "Sometimes I worry that women find my voice annoying. I called my friend in Canada, he said 'It gets shrill when you try too hard.'" - him.
  • "What is delerium tremens?" -her. "The beer and a side effect of alcoholism. Do you have any alcoholics in your family?" - him
  • PS this bar is playing The Descent on IFC.
  • OH MY GOD HE'S TALKING ABOUT HIS EX GIRLFRIEND! ps to give you a visual, he looks like tall bespectacled Ellen. She is an Asian pixie.
  • She stopped talking! He commented on the weather THEN APOLOGIZED FOR COMMENTING ON THE WEATHER.
  • "I dated a girl who was very slender. She runs faster than any dog I've ever seen." - him.
  • Oh, you guys. I may have to stop. We've crossed from schadenfreude into weltenschmertz. He is verrrrrrry drunk.
  • You guys, this was fun but now I feel like a dick. Dating is hard, like "The Descent."
Answer: First, it's actually Weltschmerz, and b) it's a specific type of German love-depression!
  1. mental depression or apathy caused by comparison of the actual state of the world with an ideal state
  2. a mood of sentimental sadness
also:
  • Sadness over the evils of the world, especially as an expression of romantic pessimism.
From Welt, "world" + Schmerz, "pain"

Pretty!

Source: Merriam-Webster, thefreedictionary,

The More You Know: Boobs (aka Julieanne Smolinski) has a nice Q+A-style advice column on MTV.com these days. Go quick to read tips on how to sext. Or find her several dozen other places on the world wide web.