Well it’s Monday, right? So a lot of people are headed to work right now, including for a lot of bosses who are less than ideal.

Therefore it’s good to know today’s word: ticalos (teek-a-los), which not even the DEX knows where it came from originally.

This word is both an adjective and a noun and is generally translated as (someone being) a “jerk” or an “asshole” or something along those lines. The Romanian says something like “someone who does reproachable acts” or “someone who acts in am embarrassing manner” or “someone who makes you cry” or “someone who does disgusting things”.

Either way, the meaning is pretty clear. Esti un om ticalos (as an adjective) is therefore only slightly different from saying Esti un ticalos (as a noun).

It is declined normally, with all the standard declinations based on gender, number and position in the sentence (receiving/giving the action).

While this word isn’t a “curseword” as in it wouldn’t be bleeped out on television, it is however a very strong word to use and should be used sparingly. It’s clearly quite an insulting word to use when describing someone.

Note: There are many wonderful synonyms in Romanian for ticalos and borrowed from other languages, including chiolhanos (Turkish), verigasos and probably my (personal) favorite, marsav (mur-shov – from the Slavic).

AND NOW YOU KNOW!