tartle
Language: Scots · [ˈtaɾtl̩] · Pronunciation: TAR-tul
Meaning
the hesitation when a name escapes you mid-introduction — blanking
The story
Scots dictionaries have recorded it since the early 1800s: the stumble of a host halfway through an introduction. Two centuries on, the internet rediscovered the word and passes it around gratefully. English speakers know the moment as blanking.
The four rounds
- Which language is it from?
- Scots
- When does it strike?
- Mid-introduction, hand outstretched
- Where would you hear it?
- A party full of half-remembered faces
- What does it mean?
- The stall when a name won't surface
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