Icelandic Words I Love (e.g. Smákaka)

So I realize that I may have undermined my credibility slightly with the lexicographical crowd (and they are a crowd) by taking liberties with Walrus definitions, but these are actual, real, Icelandic words. Except for maybe one or two of them.

#11. Þig– “You.” Because it looks like “pig” but you pronounce it “thig.”

#10. Tuttugu– “Twenty.” This word could go so many ways–towards ballet apparel, tugboats, silly putty manufactured by the Nickelodeon channel (my god, was that stuff awesome–if only they had made it edible)–you name it. As Wittgenstein says, “I am tempted to say that the right expression in language for the miracle of the existence of the world, though it is not any proposition in language, is the existence of language itself.” Chew on that, Javi.

#9. Hval– “Whale.” I think I like the word “whale” a lot too–when I say it, it’s like I’m living my dream of actually being a giant nuclear submarine. Hval is special because it’s pronounced Kval, which is just whack.

#8. Wrawlwruss. Because I love that word.

#7. Punktur– “point.” Useful for GPS mapping, but also useful for calling your confused friends “punkturs.”

#6. Veitingahús– “restaurant.” Actually I’m not sure veitingahús is one of my favorite words. “Veitingahus, veitingahus.” I’m just not sure.

#5. Fallegt– “beautiful.” Pronounced “fatlegkt.” It’s almost like an onomatopoeia. Anyway, I just think the glottal stop in this word is totally adorable.

#4. Hnifur– “knife.” As in, “The hnifur cuts both ways.” How cool is that? Huh? Huh?

#3. Sæt– “cute.” I like this word because one of my friends had to interview an Icelandic girl for Icelandic class. He asked her to describe herself using three words, and she said she was very “sæt.” Her other two words were “klikkuð” which means “crazy” and “gaman” which means “fun.”

#2. Köngurlóarvefur– “Spiderweb.” As in, “Eensy weensy spider [I don't know if this is köngur or vefur or what] went up the köngurlóarvefur…” Mainly I like to be impressed with myself, and I am so totally impressed with myself that I know how to say “spiderweb” in Icelandic.

And #1. Smákaka– “Cookie.” Pronounced “smaowkaka.” Kaka by itself means cake. There are many enjoyable variants on this, of the “I like to eat kaka” variety. I put this at #1 because I spent several delectable hours today describing what textures I like my kaka to be (firm as opposed to mushy) and where I make it (I make kaka on the kitchen table).

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I’d like to point out that (1) yes that nuclear submarine is me, and (2) yes, I have an awesome lightning bolt on my conning tower. I’m not sure why I want to be a nuclear submarine as opposed to just a regular submarine, except that I’ve been told they can run more silent.