Make Your Point: TORSCHLUSSPANIK

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pronounce TORSCHLUSSPANIK:

TORSH loose pan ick

Hear it.

connect this word to others:

A high five to Yeshua, who messaged me about the word Torschlusspanik!

It translates to "door-shutting panic:" the fear that you're losing your last chance to do something.

Let's file it along with some other foreign terms for complex feelings:

1. W___sch___z is German for "world pain:" a sad, exhausted feeling about the sorry state of the whole world.

2. M___ n_ aw___ is Japanese for "the sorrow of things:" the bittersweet feeling of enjoying or appreciating things while knowing that they won't last.

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

Since the year 1963 or so, we've used the word "Torschlusspanik" in English.

It's German for "shut door panic," or "shut gate panic."

Torschlusspanik is the fear and anxiety that you feel when you worry that you're getting too old to take advantage of certain opportunities in life. It's as if you're about to be locked out of your own city, left in the dark, alone, vulnerable to roving criminals and wild animals.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Noun, the uncountable kind: "She's suffering from Torschlusspanik."

Like with many German nouns that we've borrowed into English, we capitalize it.

Other forms:

None.

how to use it:

Use it cautiously! It's long, rare, and foreign, so it's likely to scare away some of your readers. You'll need to clarify its meaning in context, or simply gloss it, like in both of the examples cited below.

You might write about people experiencing, suffering from, warding off, or dismissing Torschlusspanik.

examples:

"We may be approaching the end, the exhaustion, of art... there may be before us now 'only a long littleness.' But in ''The Meanings of Modern Art,' [John Russell] joyously banishes this Torschlusspanik, this fear of the closing of the door."
— Anatole Broyard, New York Times, 3 October 1981

"All four parents are steadily, inexorably growing older, becoming obsessed by what Hartmann calls 'Torschlusspanik: the panic of the shutting of the door.' Each faces that awareness in a different way."
— Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post, 12 March 1989

has this page helped you understand "Torschlusspanik"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "Torschlusspanik" without saying "fear of missing out" or "anxiety about your time running short."

try it out:

Many people think of Torschlusspanik as a kind of mid-life crisis: something we all experience once we realize our lives are flying by. The cure for it, as this blogger asserts, is to go ahead and chase your dreams, no matter how uncomfortable you get in the process.

Do you agree? Is the cure for Torschlusspanik to chase your dreams? If not, what is the cure, if there is one?

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for this month is Make Your Point Before & After!

I’ll give you a clue, and you give me a verbal mashup including at least one word or phrase we've studied before.

For example, if I give you "It's someone who meets you at the library to join you in a state of deep, serious, often gloomy thoughtfulness," then you give me "brown study buddy." It's a mashup of "brown study" and "study buddy."

Try this one today: Whether it's the first slice of cake cut at an office birthday party or the first hot pancake to come off the griddle, it's the selfishly-snatched-up loot by that one person who always thinks they have dibs on it, like a crop-greedy landlord as the harvest starts to come in.

To reveal the first two hints, highlight the hidden white text.

Hint 1: The number of words in this Before & After is... three, with one hyphen.

Hint 2: The first word in this Before & After is... "me-first."

Hint 3: Use this term.

To see the answer, scroll all the way down.

review this word:

1. A near opposite of TORSCHLUSSPANIK is

A. RARA AVIS: a person who is unusual and remarkable.
B. QUI VIVE: a state of alertness, as if looking out for dangers.
C. JOIE DE VIVRE: the pure happiness you feel by living your best life.

2. Toss aside your Torschlusspanik: _____.

A. airplanes these days are quite safe
B. you're never too old to try new things
C. the flu vaccine comes in a nasal spray

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
  36 ways to study words.
  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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