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Danish word of the day: Tanketorsk

Michael Barrett
Michael Barrett - [email protected]
Danish word of the day: Tanketorsk

Photo by Francesco Ungaro on Unsplash and Nicolas Raymond/FlickR

Fish are famous for having short memories, but what has that got to do with today's word?

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What is tanketorsk?

En tanke is a thought, and torsk is cod, the species of fish most famous in British culture for being the perfect takeaway accompaniment to chips.

Tanketorsk therefore literally translates as "think-cod" or "thought-cod". This obviously doesn't make any sense, but the figurative meaning of the word, according to the Danish dictionary, is a "foolish statement or act that is caused by a lack of thoughtfulness".

Possible English equivalents might be a blunder, error, mistake or lapse. The French loan phrase faux pas may also be appropriate. My favourite translation, and the one I think comes closest in terms of context, is a British slang word: "clanger".

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Why do I need to know tanketorsk?

The expression tanketorsk has been around for a while: it appeared in 1836 in a book by an author named Bagge, according to a 2015 Kristeligt Dagblad column, which states the word came into use in the early 1800s.

Like another abstract animal-related noun, gåseøjneit appears to be less than complimentary about the creature from which it draws its inspiration. The cod is a symbol of foolishness, which according to the KD column, "probably emerged because the cod's face, with its big mouth and staring eyes, was perceived as something that signalled stupidity".

Similarly, an informal Danish synonym for "very stupid" or "very silly" is torskedumt, i.e. "cod-stupid". So there's plenty of evidence that the cod was not highly thought of when informal or slang phrases were formed in the 19th century.

Tanketorsk is not a word intended to have a lot of impact (at least, not in modern Danish). So if you were generally upset about an error you or someone else had made you probably wouldn't call it a tanketorsk. On the other hand, it's a good way to add some colour to your vocabulary when you want to own up to a mistake without getting too heavy.

Examples

Det var en rigtig tanketorsk, da dommeren viste et rødt kort til den forkerte spiller.

It was a real clanger when the referee gave a red card to the wrong player.

Jeg er virkelig ked af det, men jeg er kommet til at købe yoghurt i stedet for mælk. Det var simpelthen en tanketorsk.

I'm really sorry but I bought yoghurt instead of milk. It was just a lapse in concentration.

Altså, jeg mente det ikke, da jeg sagde at Rom er hovedstaden i Frankrig. Det var en tanketorsk.

Look, I didn't mean it when I said Rome was the capital of France. It was an error.

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Anonymous 2022/07/02 08:31
What would be great if when you give the word for the day is have sound on pronouncing the word. I know it would help me a great deal. Just a thought. David A. Ives.

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