World Smile Day: Smile, go beast mode & unleash rizz
KOCHI: Let us start with a smile. A small, sweet one. Go on, do yourself a favour — probably the simplest self-help known to mankind. A smile can be contagious, triggering a positive chain reaction. It will someday come back to one. The karmic cycle will ensure that.
Since 1999, every year, the World Smile Day has been celebrated on the first Friday of October. It is a delightful reminder of the magical power that a simple smile can wield. Conceived by Harvey Ball, the American artist who created the iconic yellow smiley face in 1963, this day urges people across the world to embark on a heartwarming mission – to ignite kindness and spread joy.
Harvey’s concept was simple, yet profound: “The smiley face knows no politics, no geography and no religion.” And he wanted humans across the globe to embrace this spirit.I must share the inspiration behind this piece. It was initially meant to be hinged on an acerbic political broadside. However, a woman at the petrol bunk near my home at Elamkulam in Kochi made me change my mind.
Every time I stop here to refill fuel in my motorcycle, I spot this woman beaming. She has a reassuring smile, hard not to reciprocate. Warm and pleasant, like the new moon smiley. Having noted that it was Smile Day, I halted after filling fuel and asked her what fuels her ever-genial radiance. “Petrol bunks are places where one finds the most stressed-out faces,” she replied, with a smile, of course.
“Especially during the rush hours. Everyone is in a hurry, carrying a load of worry. If I, too, stand here with a grumpy face, it will only aggravate the customers. So I try to cheer people up with a smile. It also is a distraction from my own woes.” Harvey would be proud of her.At my end, there were more reasons to smile this week. Merriam-Webster has added 690 words to its dictionary.
In our fast-paced world filled with endless distractions, it’s easy to overlook the simple pleasures in life. One such delight is thumbing through the pages of a dictionary. It may sound mundane, but holds the power to transport one into a world of thoughts, ideas and imagination. Samuel Johnson was so damn right when he wrote: “Language is the dress of thought.” And the dictionary serves as the wardrobe and fitting room.
I recall my first guru in journalism, the legendary Thomas Oommen, remarking that the dictionary can be the best bedtime book. A quality dictionary is indeed a treasure trove, with a smorgasbord of words, from the everyday to the esoteric. Stumbling upon a word one has never encountered before is akin to uncovering a hidden gem. It’s also a reminder that language is a living entity, something that’s evolving alongside one.
Start looking for a random word, and one will invariably find sidetracked by fascinating words popping up nearby. As said, a journey that begins with the snouty ‘aardvark’ can eventually lead one to barrels of heady ‘zythum’.
Take the word ‘smile’. Dig a bit into its roots, and one would land on the Gangetic plains of ancient Bharat. Etymologists believe smile can be traced back to Sanskrit smayate, which was used to convey smile/blush/amusement.
Okay, time for me to go spread some smiles, and meditate on the true spirit of zythum in solitude, for I have smiles to go before I sleep. Leaving you lovely people with some words to ponder over from the Merriam-Webster update. Have a smile-filled weekend ahead!
Rizz: “(slang) romantic appeal or charm”
Zhuzh: “(noun) a small improvement, adjustment, or addition that completes the overall look, taste, etc. of
something; (verb) to improve in flavour or appearance by way of a small improvement, adjustment, or addition — often used with up”
Doggo: (slang) “dog”
Padawan: “(noun, informal) a young person especially when regarded as naïve, inexperienced, etc.”
Bingo card: “(noun, slang) a list of possible, expected, or likely scenarios — usually used in the phrase on one’s bingo card”
Simp: (verb, informal) “to show excessive devotion to or longing for someone or something”
GOATED: “(adjective, slang) considered to be the greatest of all time”
Bussin’: “(adjective, African American slang) extremely good; excellent; delicious, tasty”
Cromulent: “(informal + humorous) acceptable, satisfactory”
ngl: “(informal) not gonna lie; not going to lie”
TFW: “(informal) that feeling when — used especially on social media or in text messages to introduce a relatable scenario or an image that evokes a specific feeling”
TTYL: “(informal) talk to you later”
Generative AI: “artificial intelligence that is capable of generating new content (such as images or text) in response to a submitted prompt (such as a query) by learning from a large reference database of examples”
Large language model: “a language model that utilises deep methods on an extremely large data set as a basis for predicting and constructing natural-sounding text”
Smishing: “the practice of sending text messages to someone in order to trick the person into revealing personal or confidential information which can then be used for criminal purposes”
Hallucination: “a plausible but false or misleading response generated by an artificial intelligence algorithm” Ha! How our world is changing.
UAP: “unidentified aerial phenomenon (a mysterious flying object in the sky that is sometimes assumed to be a spaceship from another planet); also unidentified anomalous phenomenon (a mysterious phenomenon, especially an unidentified aerial phenomenon, that is sometimes assumed to be a spaceship from another planet)”
Nyctinasty : “plant movement (such as the closing of a flower’s petals or the reorientation of a leaf’s position) that occurs in response to changes in light intensity (such as the onset of darkness)...”
Rewild: “1. to return to a more natural or wild state: to make or become natural or wild again; to increase biodiversity and restore the natural processes of an ecosystem typically by reducing or ceasing human activity and reintroducing plant and animal species; 2. to return (an animal) to the wild”
Crate-dig: “to shop for rare, vintage, or obscure recordings especially by searching through crates of secondhand merchandise”
Tiny house: “a small house or mobile home that typically has a floor plan of less than 500sq.ft and that is usually designed for ergonomics and space efficiency”
Jorts: “shorts made of denim or jean”
Rage quit: “to suddenly stop participating or engaging in (something) in a fit of anger and frustration; to quit (something) in anger”
Cold open: “a scene of a film or television episode that precedes the title sequence or opening credits”
Thirst trap: “a photograph (such as a selfie) or video shared for the purpose of attracting attention or desire; also: someone or something that attracts attention or strong desire”
Doomscroll: “to spend excessive time online scrolling through news or other content that makes one feel sad, anxious, angry, etc.”
Edgelord: “(slang) someone who makes wildly dark and exaggerated statements (as on an internet forum) with the intent of shocking others”
Finsta: “(slang) a secret or incognito account on the Instagram”
Prosocial: “intended to help or benefit another person or group”
Cape: “(verb) to act as a defender or supporter”
Chef’s kiss: “a gesture of satisfaction or approval made by kissing the fingertips of one hand and then spreading the fingers with an outward motion — often used interjectionally”
Cheffy: “characteristic of or befitting a professional chef (as in showiness, complexity, or exoticness)”
Jollof rice: “a West African dish of rice cooked in a sauce of tomatoes and onions seasoned usually with garlic, thyme, hot pepper, and other spices and often accompanied by meat, fish, or vegetables”
Green chemistry: “an approach to designing and creating chemical processes and products that are safer for humans and the environment, that minimize waste, and that are energy efficient”
Kayfabe: “1) the tacit agreement between professional wrestlers and their fans to pretend that overtly staged wrestling events, stories, characters, etc., are genuine; broadly: tacit agreement to behave as if something is real, sincere, or genuine when it is not; 2. the playacting involved in maintaining kayfabe”
Tabata: “a type of high-intensity interval training that usually consists of eight sets of exercises (such as jumping jacks) each performed at maximum intensity for 20 seconds interspersed with a brief rest of 10 seconds”
Beast mode: “(slang) an extremely aggressive or energetic style or manner that someone (such as an athlete) adopts temporarily”
Meme stock: “a stock that experiences a temporary sudden surge in popularity and price due to a coordinated effort (such as a viral social media campaign) by small investors”
Girlboss: “an ambitious and successful woman (especially an entrepreneur)”