Schadenfreude
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Community
Schadenfreude
Dear Editor,
I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed the humorous, “tongue in cheek” piece by Walter Sprague. And, also I learned a new word, schadenfreude.
I looked for schadenfreude in all my dictionaries. That includes two six-inch Websters, one printed in 1877, and a Roger’s Thesaurus. Nary a mention of the word in any. So, like the author, I next consulted my good computer. There it was — “pleasure derived by someone from another’s misfortune.” Why such an obviously useful word, especially for one with siblings, has not been in dictionaries for centuries is an absolute mystery to me.
— Kari A. Clark