neologist

Clairvoyant in California

Dear Neologist,

Could you please help me with an appropriate word for when you know you predicted that something was going to happen, and that thing that happened was not a good thing, and you feel conflicted that you feel good about being right about this not so great thing?

To illustrate: My friend predicted our economic downfall and is not happy about the downfall, but has some pleasure in being right about it coming, yet feels bad about feeling good about being right.

Thank you for your time,
Clairvoyant in California

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Dear Clairvoyant,

Thank you for your question. Your "friend" landed a substantial

schwarzmalerischer Zunkunftsvorhersagetreffer 
m, shwartz'-muh-lur-ish-er Tsu'-koonfts-fore-hare-zuhg-guh-tref'-fer
(black-painting future prediction hit)

and is now feeling

Stolzbefleckte Schadenreue
f, shtoltz'-bah-fleck-tuh shuh'-den-roy-uh
(pride-bespeckled damage remorse)

Schadenreue is, of course, a combination of the ever-popular Schadenfreude, (damage joy, happiness at the misfortune of others) and Reue (remorse). One admires your friend's keen understanding of the financial sector, and hopes that his friends in turn chose to act on his advice in time to avoid the worst of the damage. One further hopes that he now has the good sense to abstain entirely from ever mentioning that he had told us so, because as we know from Mr. C. Montgomery Burnes "I told you so has a brother. His name is Shut the hell up!"

Mit herzlichen Grüßen,

The Neologist

Multi-Talented in Tennessee

Dear Neologist,

Please help, and quickly!  I'm supposed to give a speech in a few days about a student of mine who is both a vocabulary fiend and a linguaphile (French, Latin, German, and Gaelic). He is also one who not only pursues but achieves some level of skill in odd hobbies---like Tuvan throat singing and juggling.  

Can you provide a word that describes someone who masters strange hobbies?

Thanks,
Speaker in Tennessee

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Dear Speaker,

Thank you for your inquiry on behalf of your multi-talented, linguaphilic student. It strikes me that the word you need should not only describe somebody who masters strange hobbies, but a multitude of them. Clearly your student is a

Vielsprachiger Steckenpfau
m, feel'-shpruh-keeg-ur Shteck'-ken-pfow
(multilingual hobby peacock)

The word Steckenpfau is a combination of Steckenpferd (hobby horse) and Pfau (peacock), because there is always an element of gleeful ostentation when a person of immodest talents lacks the good manners to hide his unfairly apportioned gifts.

One would hope that your student, faced with the inevitable setbacks of life and treated with gentle but consistent chastisement by his peers and mentors, will eventually foreswear his profligate ways and settle on no more than one foreign language and one acceptably mainstream hobby, such as philately or dressage.

The Neologist