poshlost
Language: Russian · [ˈpoʂləsʲtʲ] · Pronunciation: POSH-lust
Pronunciation: 1640max · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Meaning
self-satisfied bad taste, thoroughly pleased with how fine it is
The story
Nabokov respelled it poshlust so English speakers could hear the smugness, and aimed it at the falsely important and the falsely clever. What makes something poshlost is bad taste that is pleased with itself. English had to borrow kitsch from German for the same job.
The four rounds
- Which language is it from?
- Russian
- When did it become a literary weapon?
- The 1840s, in Gogol's Russia
- Where would you hear it?
- A gift shop full of gold-framed sunsets
- What does it mean?
- Smug bad taste that thinks it is fine
How it went
Harder than most words so far.
Round three, situation, was where most points went.
More Russian words
- podstakannik blind word
a metal holder with a handle for a glass of hot tea - na pososhok practice word
the last drink before leaving — one for the road - pochemuchka practice word
a child who never stops asking why — a little questioner - toska 2026-09-26
a vague, aching restlessness of the soul, longing for it knows not what
2026-10-23 · ‹ Previous word · All words