Definition: Hwyl (Welsh)

Hwyl

[ pronounced hWIL ]
Welsh word to describe a feeling of exuberance and high spirits one might get at a party of anticipated gathering.

  • From the TEDTalk below (at about 1:05), by Tiffany Watt Smith, which includes a bunch of emotions where there are no words in English, but which you may well have experienced, but never had one single word to describe them! Or which you may go out and try to see if you can conjure up the feeling from hints in its definition for where and/or under what conditions one might experience it.

 

This feeling is probably common enough you could remember this word through using it before some, if not many, parties, to describe how you might be feeling.

Definition: Guerrilla Gardening

Guerrilla Gardening

Guerrilla gardening is the act of gardening on land that the gardeners do not have the legal rights to cultivate, such as abandoned sites, areas that are not being cared for, or private property.

 

Sounds like a fun concept! More info and examples can be heard in the 99 Percent Invisible podcast episode below that is one of my favourites of all time!

https://twitter.com/digitalcitizen/status/1160717689544986631

 

Definition: Peace Lines

Peace Lines

Barricades that divide areas of Northern Ireland to help keep the peace. Also called Peace Walls as many are really walls.

 

These could apply to other places where similar barriers exist, but the term originated and is mostly associated with the complex situation in Northern Ireland. From the 99 Percent Invisible podcast episode below.

https://twitter.com/digitalcitizen/status/1164922447608590339

Definition: Reverse Transcriptase

Reverse Transcriptase

A reverse transcriptase (RT) is an enzyme used to generate complementary DNA (cDNA) from an RNA template, a process termed reverse transcription.

 

It’s a cool, but slightly complicated concept. As a result, I’ll leave it to you to read more about it in the link above, or the Revisionist History podcast episode below!

https://twitter.com/digitalcitizen/status/1164969249410101248

Definition: Friendship Bench

Friendship Bench

A tool for positive mental and emotional health used in various settings, where someone can sit down on a bench to talk to someone else trained in offering that help, formally or informally.

  • Wikipedia (with some of my addition to expound on the concept)

 

Hear much more about the concept, and the amazing work done Zimbabwe, where the Friendship Bench approach to therapy uses listening and “problem-solving therapy” by trained lay-counselor grandmothers, in this TEDTalks Daily podcast episode.

https://twitter.com/digitalcitizen/status/1165424318559506432