I need an adjective applicable to any noun, be it a person, a place, an object, an event, an emotion, a moment, whose beauty results specifically and explicitly from its imperfections, from its non-beauty. I want a single, precise word to suit this purpose, a cohesive and constant syllabic stream to convey a concise idea. I do not want a casual, turn-of-phrase idiom, nor will I settle for a loosely redefined commonplace compound, such heartbreaking or breathtaking, nor will I be satisfied with a metaphor, some otherwise nonsensical noise melodic only to those in tune with its intent. I suspect such a linguistic device to be found only outside the confines of English, in which there seemingly exists no directly translatable counterpart. My favorite maybe-I’m-getting-warmer of the evening is JAYUS (Indonesian, and not an adjective at all, but a noun itself, though I’m sure I’d be granted some liberties upon its liberation), which refers to a joke so poorly told, so unfunny, that one cannot help but laugh.
Posted on: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 03:45:59 +0000
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