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Shrug

Shrug. Shrug shrug shrug. What a strange-sounding word. Shhhrrrrrrrrug.

This isn’t a allegorical commentary on some apathetic state of mind I find myself in; I’m talking about the word itself. It must be a Germanic sort of concoction. I mean, look at all those consonants. And it probably describes the sound you’d get if you punched a guy in just the right spot. Definitely Germanic.

Do people whose native language is, say, Spanish have trouble pronouncing the word “shrug”? Does the ‘h’ make it easier than “street,” “sprinkler,” “Spanish”?

You can only shrug your shoulders; it’s a very specific word. You can’t shrug you knees, your face, or your cat. Some people also use it as a noun to describe a sort of wrap worn around the shoulders. Shrug. That makes it sound ugly, I think. I’d say “wrap” or “scarf.” Still tough and earthy-sounding, but, you know, less so.

I read a post on McSweeney’s today about Atlas Shrugged. I’ve never read the book, but the paragraph about “the collective weight of an entire Tot Lot’s worth of Elmo balls” sounds like a climactic reference. The shrugging is in the title of the book, after all. But what does happen when Atlas, who holds the whole world on his shoulders, shrugs? A shrug is an up-and-down movement, yes? Does this throw the world to the ground, so that Atlas can finally stand, unburdened of the rest of humanity’s troubles? Or does it only adjust the load a bit so he can bear it more comfortably? I’d guess the former, but I’m working from ignorance here.

Anyway, when I then read this post and lit upon another reference to this goofy word, well, clearly the universe wanted me to blog about it.

Shrug shrug shrug shrug shrug.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, August 12th, 2010 at 10:43 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “Shrug”

  1. Vee Says:
    August 12th, 2010 at 12:08 pm

    Yay, consonants!
    Try “angstschreeuw” … don’t overdo it though, if you feel like you’re choking: give up.

  2. Alan Says:
    August 12th, 2010 at 12:55 pm

    Like “dog,” “shrug” is an etymological mystery that arrived on the scene without a clear origin. [1] It’s probably not germanic because the German word is achselzucken. Also, “shrug” did not appear in Old English (which had versions of most of the germanic words that are in English).

    From the Wikipedia page on Atlas Shrugged,

    The significance of this reference is seen in a conversation between the characters of Francisco d’Anconia and Hank Rearden in which d’Anconia asks of Rearden what sort of advice he would give to Atlas upon seeing that “the greater [the titan's] effort the heavier the world bore down on his shoulders.” With Rearden unable to answer, Francisco gives his own response: “To shrug.” In this conversation, Atlas is to be understood as a metaphor for the productive men of society.

    The title is about the power to shake up the world that is held but typically unused by the people who keep the world spinning, the common man.

  3. Natalie Says:
    August 12th, 2010 at 1:45 pm

    Even odder than I’d imagined! I had no idea that “dog” was a mysterious orphan word, too. How fun.

    Ah, shaking up the world does make more sense. Awesome, now I don’t have to read the book.

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