Thanks to our long-time friend Hanne Ipland Bonczoszek for alerting us to the wonderful new entry in this series – skumfidus. Being an omnivorous type, Worldly Scandifriend would quite happily hoover up a bag of marshmallows and only think about facing the sugar hit consequences afterwards.
But this Danish word for marshmallow also has the effect, metaphorically, of turning a frog into a prince. If you look at this Danish-language dictionary, you might be tempted to translate skumfidus as, literally and variously, foam scam, foam trick, foam person/small object which is difficult to characterise, scummy trick and scummy scam. Even if you get it completely wrong in the process, there’s something funny and pleasing about the fact that potentially unbecoming linguistic compounds become becoming when associated with this delicacy. We suggest you enjoy this paradox and let it buoy your marshmallow float. *
Definitely not the skum of the earth
It’s the least we can do to thank Hanne by highlighting her work as a highly experienced, capable and empathetic professional in the field of human resources – particularly with regards to helping potential jobseekers prepare for interviews. She’s based in Salisbury, UK – and you can access her website here.
* on a slightly more serious note. We’re sure skum means foam in this context. But what precisely might the fiduser be referring to in a marshmallow context? We’d love to know. Thanks.
Worldly Scandifriend 