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Monday, February 11, 2013

New (to me) Hebrew slang

I'm always stumbling over new Hebrew words, slang and espressions in my day-to-day life. Not being a native speaker of the language, I suppose this is to be expected.

Most new (to me) words I can figure out from context. But occassionally I have to rely on one of my teenagers for enlightenment.

This past week I learned a new bit of slang from my daughter that is so perfectly elegant (and sounds Italian, to boot), that I had to share it:

Fluoroscenti (flʊəˈ rɛ sən ti)

adjective - slow on the uptake, dim-witted, perennially late to comprehend

Based on a fluorescent lamp's tendency to flicker for a few seconds before becoming fully illuminated, 'fluoroscenti' is used to describe a person who seems to always lag a few beats behind any conversational topic or joke.

There, now go forth and share this newfound knowledge.

Don't thank me... I'm a giver! :-)

Full Disclosure: In an ironic twist, it took me a moment from when my daughter explained the word to me before the light bulb went on over my head and I understood exactly what she was describing.

Posted by David Bogner on February 11, 2013 | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack