Deutsch, or as Mark Twain famously called it, “The Awful German Language”, is a very versatile language which easily coins new words by simply making a compound word out of two or more other words.
Some of these find their way into English. Hence, we have Schadenfreude, the joy (Freude) in someone else’s harm (Schaden).
But if we can take joy in someone else’s troubles, why can’t we also take joy in someone else’s joy? At least that was the thinking of the good folks at the Electoral-Vote.com site when they took it upon themselves to coin the word Freudenfreude. And every Friday they balance a “This Week in Schadenfreude” with a “This Week in Freudenfreude”.
I especially liked this week’s Freudenfreude, so I’m linking to it today.
This Week in Freudenfreude: Whitecloud Dispels Storm Clouds
Very classy indeed!