What you say to someone who just took a shower or had a hair cut

NAEEMAN
نعيماً

(Arabic)

The closest equivalent in English would be ‘freshness’.

Thanks to Ayah Bdeir

Something that casts a shadow

SCHATTENSPENDER

(German)

Thanks to Anita Pulfer

Child who does well despite troublesome upbringing

MASKROSBARN

(Swedish)

‘Maskros’ means Dandelion and the term refers to the weed’s ability to grow through asphalt or concrete. A synonym in Swedish for the same type of child, one who who makes it despite abusive or meager beginnings, is Asfaltsblomma (Asphalt Flower).

In English, the expression Dandelion Child unofficially refers to a bright child whose special powers will one day spread over the world.

Neat story about a Dandelion Child here.

People without papers

SANS-PAPIERS

(French)

Immigrants without papers who become completely invisible in the system of the country where they arrived.

Thanks to Francesca Falk.

Moonburn

TINTARELLA DI LUNA

(Italian)

Thanks to John Nevado

The sense of attachment one can feel for an artifact

AICHAKU
ahy-chaw-koo

(Japanese)

Large monster

DAIKAIJU
(Japanese)

Different from Kaiju, which means “strange beast” and is usually translated to English as “monster”.
It’s obviously important to efficiently be able to communicate that not only is there a monster coming along: It is large.

Bailout – Word of the Year in 2008

American Dialect’s Society’s list of Word of the Year, as voted by their members:

1990: bushlips (similar to “bullshit” – stemming from President George H. W. Bush’s 1988 “Read my lips: no new taxes” broken promise)
1991: mother of all (as in Saddam Hussein’s foretold “Mother of all battles”)
1992: Not! (meaning “just kidding”)
1993: information superhighway
1994: cyber, morph (to change form)
1995: Web and (to) newt (to act aggressively as a newcomer).
1996: mom (as in “soccer mom”).
1997: millennium bug.
1998: e- (as in “e-mail”).
1999: Y2K.
2000: chad (from the 2000 Presidential Election controversy in Florida).
2001: 9-11.
2002: weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).
2003: metrosexual.
2004: red state, blue state, purple state (from the 2004 presidential election).
2005: truthiness, popularized on The Colbert Report.
2006: plutoed (demoted or devalued, as happened to the former planet Pluto).
2007: subprime (an adjective used to describe a risky or less than ideal loan, mortgage, or investment).
2008: bailout (a rescue by government of a failing corporation)

Having the qualities of an inelegant iterative step that works but will eventually be replaced by something better

BORANJ
| ‘bôrənj; ‘bär- |
adjective
(English)

1. having the qualities of an inelegant iterative step that works
but will eventually be replaced by something better.
2. of or like an evolutionary step.
3. having both functional and awkward qualities.

Boranj is a word invented by Plebian Design

The feeling of someone being present

SONZAI-KAN

(japanese)