If you could add a single word to the English language, what would it be?
Every Wednesday we ask our Brain Game contestants one interesting, thought-provoking or just plain quirky question. Their answers will be published anonymously in Young Post. Then readers can vote for their FAVOURITE answer. We will eliminate the contestant with the LEAST votes every week until we have a winner.
The ultimate Brain Game winner will receive a pair of annual Gold Passes to Ocean Park.
The contestants
Contestant 1
You know how cockroaches live to terrorise, terrify, and petrify? I bring to you the newest English word (drum roll, please) ... descroy! Descroy (verb) means “to destroy cockroaches”.
I know I shouldn’t be saying “kill all cockroaches”, but these horrible insects could be in your kitchen eating your food, laying eggs, or just twitching their antennas or wiggling their creepy bodies. So, let’s start descroying to make the world a better place.
Contestant 2
Shemur. Do you ever want to ignore a person when he or she is annoying you, or you have no idea how to respond to a text message? Well, this word can help you out. It’s classy and isn’t too offensive, and it will save you from awkward situations. It can also end a conversation because the other person may not know how to reply.
Contestant 3
Egosurf, definitely. Never heard of it? Yeah, because I took two words and combined them together. Egosurf is the art of searching yourself on Google or any other search engine. In short, to stalk ourselves and to see the amazing, quirky things that search engines come up with when it comes to our names!
Contestant 4
Snapchatify. It’s a verb. I’m going to make a sentence out of it. “Mary snapchatified herself yesterday but failed to do so because her face couldn’t be detected.” This generally means any faces in any pictures adorned with snapchat filters.
I invented this word because of the popularity of the mobile app. Perhaps the next time you are trying to make your friend vomit the rainbow, just yell “Let’s snapchatify!”.
Contestant 5
This question has infinite possibilities, and so many words are suitable. During my research, I discovered the perfect word – “jayus” (pronounced jah-yoos). It’s Indonesian, and is defined as “a joke delivered in such a horrible manner and so unfunny that one cannot help but laugh”. Umm, why did the chicken cross the road again?
Contestant 6
“Clastgag”, or “broken gag” in Cantonese, meaning a joke that makes us laugh because it is badly told and is not funny at all. Its root is the English word “gag”, while its prefix “clast” originates from the Greek word for break or crush.
Once this word becomes commonly used, I believe there will soon be a “clastgag alert” similar to the “spoiler alert”!
Contestant 7
Nowadays, many people are so addicted to their phones that they ignore everyone. I think “cellfish” is the perfect adjective to describe them.
This word is quite similar to “selfish” and can be used in different situations. For example, it can be used to describe people who are glued to their phones while having a meal with family or friends. Also, people who are crazy about selfies are very “cellfish”. I think I will use this word about 100 times a day.
Contestant 8
How about “jayus”? It’s Indonesian slang for a joke that is so unfunny you can’t help laughing. This happens a lot and the person who tells the so-called joke feels very uncomfortable. The English version of “jayus” is: “That’s so funny I forgot to laugh.”
I don’t think there’s a particular English word to describe this feeling.
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